Little children often reject the offer of help, saying, “I can do it by myself.”  While a desire for independence can be admirable, it becomes a problem when it comes to spiritual matters.  Too often we leave God out of the equation and think we can handle it ourselves or maybe solicit the help of someone else other than God.  There are lots of examples in Scripture, including King Asa of Judah who had taken over for his father,  King Abijam whose “heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David” whom God said was “a man after My heart, who will do all My will” (I Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:20). (It is interesting how David became the one to whom ensuing Kings of Judah were compared spiritually).      

     In contrast to his father, “Asa did right in the sight of the LORD, like David’‘ (I Kgs. 15:11). He was “wholly devoted to the LORD all his days (v. 14) and led religious reforms for the whole nation, even disciplining his own mother for her idol worship and he re-established Temple worship.  Although Asa did not eradicate every single high place for idol worship, he never drifted into idolatry himself. But, it states that “there was war between Asa and Baasha, King of Israel, all their days” (v. 16), and war was usually a sign that something was wrong.  Baasha, King of the northern tribes of Israel, had invaded the southern territory of Judah, blocking the roads in and out of Jerusalem. How would godly King Asa respond?  His options were to cry out to God for help or try to work it out himself politically. Unfortunately he chose the latter and used all the treasures from the Temple along with his own possessions to buy a treaty with the wicked King Benhadad of Aram, who lived in Damascus (v. 18).  The plan appeared to work, but according to II Chron. 16:7, Hanani the prophet condemned Asa for his reliance on a wicked  foreign army to defend him, betraying a lack of faith in God and a reliance on his own way of working things out.  

     The Psalmist, David, who often found himself “between a rock and a hard place,” wrote, “Some boast in chariots, and some in horses;  but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God” (Psa. 20:7).  David, “the man after God’s own heart,” when hard-pressed by his enemies, would cry out to God for help. He wrote, for example: “But as for me, I shall sing of Thy strength; yes, I shall joyfully sing of Thy lovingkindnesses in the morning, for Thou hast been my stronghold, and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to Thee; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness” (Psa. 59:16,17).  “O give us help against the adversary; for deliverance by man is in vain. Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries“ (Psa. 60:11,12).  “Hear my cry, O God, Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to Thee, when my heart is faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy” (Psa. 61:1-3). 

      When Assyrian King Sennacherib and his huge army invaded Judah, King Hezekiah did all he could to strengthen his defenses, but then spoke these words of encouragement to his military: “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude which is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles” (II Chron. 32:7-8). 

     There is one matter where for sure we are not to “do it ourself,” and that is regarding salvation and eternal life in heaven.  We are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) and can do  absolutely nothing to work our own way to heaven.  Salvation is solely by grace through faith totally apart from works on our part (Eph. 2:8,9; Gal. 2:16; Ro. 3:20; 4:16; 5:1).  It is a gift, not something we deserve or can earn. For those who decide to try it on their own, they are basically saying, “God, I want you to judge me based on my performance,” and the verdict will always be “Guilty!” (Ro. 3:19,20).   Jesus did all the work. He gave His life a sacrifice for sin–our sin. “The wages of sin is death” (Ro. 6:23a) but Jesus paid that penalty for us (II Cor. 5:21: I Pet. 2:24)  Salvation is a “gift,” we must simply receive by acknowledging that we are sinners and can’t save ourselves and by putting our trust in Jesus and His death, burial and resurrection (Ro. 6:23b; Jn. 3:16). 

     As those who have received Christ and now positionally have His righteousness credited to our account, we still can’t live this Christian life on our own.  It is not difficult, it is impossible. Only Christ and the Holy Spirit who now indwell us can do it. We have a role to play by making ourselves available to Him, but we still have to ask Him to do it.  Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).  I will never reach a place in my Christian maturity where I can do it on my own.  I am dependent upon Christ who indwells me (Gal. 2:20).   Don’t wait until you have exhausted all your resources before you go to God. Make it the first response, and then just stay available and watch what He can do!

     King Asa gave in to the temptation to trust himself and his riches. Where have you placed your trust?

Forever His,

Pastor Dave