Are You Leaning on Practicality More Than Trusting God?

Are You Leaning on Practicality More Than Trusting God?

King Asa, was a godly king after God’s own heart. He had a reputation for trusting God. Also, he’d done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and God had given him favor delivering him in many wars. However, one day King Asa decided to do what was practical for kings in that time instead of what he’d previously done—consulted the Lord.

He aligned himself with the King of Aram to prevent another King from being successful in his endeavor against himself and Judah (2 Chronicles 16:1-9.) However, God sent a prophet to King Asa to correct him, saying the below:

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. – 2 Chronicles 16:7

It was practical for King Asa to make a league with the other King. That’s what kings did. However, not above the counsel of the Lord. King Asa did not know what the counsel of the Lord was because he did not seek the Lord in the matter. He took it into his own hands not considering what God wanted to do. Therefore, Asa would have to face war for the remainder of his life.

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 thing, and from now on you will be at war.” – 2 Chronicles16:9

Trusting God with Only Certain Things

How many of us have a history with the Lord as King Asa had? Yet, we assign God to only handle certain things in our lives excluding his input on others. Maybe, we’ve gotten tired of the long process of going about things God’s way. So, we look to trust the practical more. After all, the practical did work to solve Asa’s issue in his case.

When we are presumptuous about how we feel our lives should turn out—we take away the space for God to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or even think (Ephesians 3:20.) I’m sure this is what God had in mind, which would have been far more than what King Asa could have expected.

He’d started so strong in the Lord. Similar to the below warning in Galatians:

Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? – Galatians 3:3

Walking in Step with The Spirit of God is What Got You Here

In other words, walking in step with the Spirit of God is what got Asa to the point he was at as king. It’s also what has gotten us to where we are. It’s also the very thing that will get us to the exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think. This is how God wants to do things.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” – Luke 5:4-5

Simon, Peter was essentially saying, we’ve done everything practically all night, but because you say so and we trust you we will follow what you are saying. Next, this is where the disciples saw the exceeding, abundantly, above all we can ask or think.

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” – Luke 5:6-8

The catch was so huge—they could hardly handle it. This is what God wants to do in our lives—the miraculous. Many of us have been waning in strength, faith, and boldness to believe in God for the miraculous. Sometimes, we may be so weak that we are willing to take anything to resolve the anxiety we feel like King Asa. He just wanted the issue solved with the King of Bashan. Even through the pain of whatever we are being challenged with whether loneliness, anxiety, or disappointment, we have to be willing to continue trusting God to do the miraculous.

The Practical is Important

Yes, we need to do all that we can in the practical sense but not without acknowledging God. And not without leaving room to be guided by God’s voice as the disciples were guided by the voice of Jesus to resolve their vain efforts at fishing for the day. I truly believe this is the message God gave me in prayer and Bible reading recently. It strengthened my heart as I’d recently come out of a season of facing one challenge after the other while trying to resolve my inner longing and anxiety. I was comforted to know God wants to go beyond in resolving these things for me. It just requires a little trust.

What areas are we leaning more toward the practical above walking in step with the Spirit of God? Could it be our dating lives? Are we trying to fulfill the promise of a husband or wife without acknowledging God? In not acknowledging God, are we taking away his space to do the miraculous? What if God has an exceeding miracle for you in that area? What if you decided to settle for less because of leaning only to the practical? We need the practical. We need practical wisdom. Knowing how to practice discernment is key. However. These things aren’t enough. Let’s pray the Lord strengthens us to trust him to do the miraculous in our lives over what we can do for ourselves in the practical.