Against All Odds
Today’s Verse:
And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. ~2 Chronicles 14:11
The Bible contains many inspirational, real-life accounts of people who overcame odds that were against them. When someone says that the odds are against you, it means you have little to no chance of overcoming your situation. It means the situation is overwhelmingly against your success. Yet, we see situation after situation where faith in God overcame the odds. Our devotion this morning is about another believer who overcame the odds that were against him. Let us see how King Asa overcame an almost hopeless situation.
We see Asa’s concern.
“And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.” The Ethiopian king, Zerah, came out against King Asa with an army almost twice the size of Asa’s. Zerah had an army of 1 million soldiers and 300 chariots. When Asa came out and saw this great host, his heart sank inside of him. Probably going through his mind was the potentially massive number of casualties he would face and the loss of Jerusalem and Judah. God will place us in situations where we feel the intimidation of being outnumbered, outwitted, outlawed, and out of our league. Our backs will be against the wall and there will be no escape. What do you do when this happens?
We see Asa’s cry.
“And Asa cried unto the LORD his God.” Asa prayed. His prayer modeled “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man.” He needed to get a hold of God fast. His prayed for God’s help. He prayed that the adversary would not prevail. He knew that he needed God to do something or else he and his men would be whipped badly. His prayer was, “Help us.” It was simple. It was serious. It was submissive. We must pray like we are in a trial, lest God should send us trials to teach us to pray.
We see Asa’s confidence.
Asa’s prayer is a model of a faith prayer. First, he acknowledged God’s power and authority. He said, “It is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power.” It doesn’t matter what our situation is: ultimately, we need God to fight for us. Second, he said, “We rest on thee.” The Hebrew word for rest means to lean all your weight upon something. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” “Rest” means to put our total and complete faith in God. Third, he uses the word “help” twice. This is the Hebrew word “ezer.” This means that without the help of someone you need, you won’t make it. Fourth, he said, “In thy name we go against this multitude.” He was fighting in the name of the Lord. It’s all about what is done in the name of the Lord. Last, he acknowledged, “O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” It’s about faith in God, Who is all-powerful. Without God, we cannot win against the odds.
We see Asa’s conquest.
“So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.” The adversaries were beaten and humiliated. However, it was the Lord Who smote the enemy and made them flee. “We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Asa beat the odds because he let the Lord fight for him. Don’t let overwhelming odds leave you defeated before the enemy. Have faith like Asa and lean all your weight upon the Lord.
Have a faith-conquering God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Job 17-20