The Prophetic Word - Day 12: Help from the Lord is at the end of yourself.
- May 4, 2023
- 3 min read
“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa developed a disease in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his illness he did not seek the Lord, but [relied only on] the physicians. So Asa slept with his fathers [in death], dying in the forty-first year of his reign.”
2 Chronicles 16:12-13 AMP
Over the next few days we will be looking at a word the Lord gave us concerning “holy despair.” We will discuss what that means tomorrow. For today we look at the danger in “self-sufficiency.”
Many years ago the Lord shared with me concerning two dangerous mindsets.
The first dangerous mindset is “sufficiency outside of God.” In other words: thinking you can find your own way, make your own decisions, fix your own messes, etc. without help from the Lord. Some people pride themselves as being “self-made.” This mindset is dangerous in that it separates you from the Lord by not surrendering to His rule over your life. As well, isolating yourself from Christ’s rule leaves you vulnerable to influence—if not control—over your life by the forces of evil. You will be doomed to walk in darkness!
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.””
John 8:12 NLT
The other dangerous mindset is “insufficiency in God.” In other words: although you have submitted your life to the Lord’s rule, you still have anxiety and fear concerning your life. This is a dangerous mindset in that it displeases the Lord by indicating a lack of trust in Him. In failing to put your trust in the Lord you can miss your purpose, have no peace in this life, as well as imperiling your eternal reward!
“Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 AMP
Trusting in the Lord and relying on Him leads to peace and power in this life and great reward in the next.
In our opening scripture we see the sad ending of a life otherwise well-lived because of a lack of trusting in the Lord.
King Asa of Judah did good things by getting rid of the worship of false gods in Judah. But, when he got sick he tried to do things his own way and died as the result.
Indeed, before the event described in the opening scripture, Asa—when facing a threat from the king of Israel— turned to the king of Syria for help rather than turning to the Lord. Hanani the prophet told him that because of his failure to trust in the Lord he would be in wars from then on; and he was. Instead of repenting when confronted by the prophet, he put Hanani in jail and began to mistreat some of his own people.
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison [in the stocks], for he was enraged with him because of this. And at the same time Asa oppressed some of the people.”
2 Chronicles 16:9-10 AMP
The Lord wants to help us; but He will not force Himself on us. As long as we refuse to submit to the Lord’s rule, we cannot access the abundant life found in joining Him under His yoke.
Make no mistake, help from the Lord will not come until you are at the end of yourself, having finished with trying to do things your own way.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for him!
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