“At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, ‘Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram.'” 2 Chronicles 16:7 NLT
While reading the chapter, it seemed logical to me for Asa to make a treaty with King Ben-hadad of Aram – for the safety of his people in Judah. After all, shouldn’t Asa be doing his due diligence? Shouldn’t he be doing all that he can do? Well the answer is yes. However, Asa missed the first step – he should have first called upon the Lord. He misplaced his confidence by not standing on the Lord’s promises. He did not seek the Lord for wisdom, guidance, direction, and safety, but took it upon himself to find a resolution.
In reading this verse, I wondered what chances have I missed because I did not trust in the Lord? Due to the strengths given to me by the Lord, have I neglected to seek His counsel and as a result, missed out on something even better that the Lord had in store?
Another reminder for me that it is in our weaknesses that we call upon the Lord, but in our strengths we forsake Him.
Lock Your Wings 
“Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people.”
2 Chronicles 16:10 NLT
We don’t like to be reprimanded. We deny, explain, defend instead of repentance. Our stubbornness often leads us in the opposite direction of where we should be. The farther we drift the harder it is to come back. “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign.”
2 Chronicles 16:12-13 NLT
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