Today's Reading - 2 Chronicles 11 & 12

The Short Trip Back to God

When Rehoboam had firmly established his kingdom and became strong as the nation’s leader, he abandoned the Law of the LORD and all Israel followed him in this sin. His departure from the LORD resulted in defeat at the hands of the Egyptian armies. God then spoke to Rehoboam through the prophet Shemaiah who explained, in no uncertain terms, that because Israel had abandoned God, God was doing the same: “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.”  (V5)

This situation presents us with two vitally important lessons for life: (1) don’t take God and His blessings for granted; and (2) returning to Him is not difficult, but it takes humility.

Rehoboam’s departure from the Lord came as a result of his perceived strength and self-reliance. After all, he was now king of a powerful nation. He had all the blessings, accoutrements, and recognition that come with being king. Life was easy. God’s blessings were evident. So, as human beings are inclined to do, he began to drift away from the LORD and His laws and His ways. His dependence upon God shifted to a dependence upon his own status and wealth. He began to take God for granted and, because many eyes were upon him, so did the citizens of his kingdom. Watch out for the sin of taking God and His blessings for granted. Never depend on your status, wealth, resources, and recognition rather than depending fully upon Him. The promise of Scripture is that if you “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) But, remember, the converse of this promise is also true, “Drift away from God, and He will draw away from you.” Never, ever “rest on your laurels” by taking God and His blessings for granted.

The good news for Rehoboam and for all of us is this: No matter how far away from God you’ve drifted, it is always only a short trip back. Rehoboam and his princes simply had to humble themselves, meaning they had to forsake their pride and self-reliance. It was not necessary to go through some prolonged process of finding their way back into His grace. It was a short journey back to Him. By humbling themselves and declaring “The LORD is righteous,” they were acknowledging their own sin and failure and declaring their own unrighteousness in light of God’s righteousness.

Have you drifted away from the Lord? Have you begun to trust in your status or self? What the Lord requires of you and me when this happens is to acknowledge our sin, humble ourselves, and draw near to Him once again. When we have drifted away, we don’t need to beat ourselves up. Nor do we need to go through some prolonged process of trying to prove ourselves worthy (we're not worthy). Simply repent and confess. You will find Him waiting for you right where you left Him. It is a short trip back to His loving arms! The promise of God found in 1 John 1:9 is that, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." What a promise!