2 Chronicles 14-16

"At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him; 'Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Liban a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish things, and from now on you will be at war.'

Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people."

The story of Asa confirmed the message we heard on Sunday about how God is always searching for "those who's hearts are fully committed to him."

Asa had a heart for God in the beginning of his reign as king. He won a battle against the Cushites and Liban by seeking God. And he went through great efforts to get rid of all the idol. It says that he even removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. In response to Asa's obedience, God gave him peace from war.

I think the lesson God is teaching me today is from the words, "always searching". Do I realize that at any given moment, God is searching my heart? Even, right now. He is looking to see how I respond to every situation. Would I look to God or would I look else where?

It is very challenging for us to be aware of God all the time. We had conversations before about how we would be so blessed when we do our quiet time, but it's hard to carry on that blessing for the rest of the day. This happens when we hear a good message on Sundays or during bible studies. I think it's because when we get blessed and are feeling good, we rely on that moment to last the rest of the day. But God is searching our hearts every moment. We need to be reminded of that and start seeking him, again, the moment right after we receive his blessing. May we be willing to let God teach us the wisdom on how to never stop seeking him.

And let us humble ourselves this day when God confronts us about our mistakes. We have experienced that it is not worth it at all for us to be stubborn. When we don't repent of our sins as the Spirit reveals them to us, it will cause us to remove our eyes from God. And nothing good can ever come of us removing our eyes from God...

So let's be encourage this day, for God is looking "throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." Let's allow God to strengthen us this day by seeking him in all we do:)