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\u201cFor the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war\u201d (2 Chronicles 16:9).

Our walk with God begins and ends in the heart. God is looking for a certain kind of heart. \xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 God probes beyond our credentials. These things are all true and are part of this text. However, it is possible to push these things so far that none of us feels spiritually safe. After all, who among us Christians can say that our hearts are fully committed to God?

Reading this verse in its context helps. But we must also read it alongside the rest of scripture. No verse in the Bible stands alone.

Asa has started his reign as king of Judah well. He called God\u2019s people to obedience. The land was purged of idolatry. Enemies were put to rout. In response, God caused his people to prosper in the land of promise.

But as time passed, complacency took root. When Judah\u2019s life of ease was threatened, King Asa sought the help of others rather than continuing to trust in the Lord. God had delivered Israel from Egypt and established them in their own land. He was always faithful and true. Asa forgot. That is what this text is about.

Last year our life of ease was threatened by a pandemic. How did we respond? What did we look to for relief? In Proverbs it says, \u201cGuard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life\u201d (4:23). That is true both in times of ease and in times when that ease is threatened.

But why do we have to guard our hearts? The Bible talks often about hard-ness of heart. Simply put, hard hearts are closed to God. Asa\u2019s life illustrates that hearts can grow cold a degree at a time. Thus, having spent little time nurturing our relationship with God, when we wake up to trouble, we do not turn to him.

Instead of seeking fellowship with the Lord and looking to our heavenly Father for help and provision, we leave our first love and turn to our bank-balance or earthly relationships to supply our need. To often we look to the government for help or rely on our skills; our education; our inner-self or personality! It is only after we have exhausted all the natural, worldly avenues of hope that we finally look to the Lord as our last resort.

God\u2019s warning to Asa about war should not be applied to everyone. That was meant for Asa. But we know from the rest of scripture that God is looking for people who are fully committed to him. After all, Jesus also said it when he talked about different forms of security. He concluded with, \u201cput God\u2019s kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all those things will also be given to you\u201d (Matthew 6:33).

But whom among us can say our hearts are this committed to God? That is why we need the rest of scripture. We can paraphrase the father who brought his possessed son to Jesus, \u201cI believe, help my unbelief\u201d (Mark 9:24).

If that is our prayer than we can draw encouragement from out text, \u201cFor the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.\u201d He will find us with our weak faith and strengthen us.