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Day 104 Promise 135 2 Chronicles 15:1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. 6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. (KJV) Everyone likes rewards and commendations. They like to be recognized for their work. The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, came upon Azariah the son of Oded who went to Asa, king of Judah. He told him that if he sought God, He would be found in him. But if he forsook God, He would forsake him. He then cited Israel as an example of what God would do when they turned back to God. Azariah admonished Asa to be strong and not become weak, and he would receive a reward from God. There were only a few times in Israel’s history when the Holy Spirit came on a person to perform the work they needed to do. The Holy Spirit was on the two people who built the tabernacle in the wilderness. He was with David when he prophesied through the many psalms about the Messiah to come, and he was with Azariah to give a message to Asa, king of Judah. His message was simple. Don’t stray from God and God would be with him. He told him to remain strong and not weak and God would reward him for his faithfulness. Moses told Joshua to be strong and courageous. The Captain of the Host told Joshua to remain strong and courageous. David told Solomon to remain strong and courageous, and Azariah told Asa to remain strong and faithful. As Christians, your enemy Satan comes against you with temptations that would take you out of God’s grace and favor if you succumbed to them. However, God admonishes you too, to remain steadfast, strong, and courageous. When you do, you will receive your reward. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. You can do nothing in and of yourselves. You need the Holy Spirit in you to help you stand against Satan. Asa needed God’s strength to stand against his enemies. It takes courage and remaining faithful to God’s promise of protection when your enemy comes against you. Are you standing strong and courageous? Do you have your armor on to withstand everything Satan throws at you? Paul told the church at Ephesus to stand in the evil day, and when they did all they could, to stand. Azariah told Asa the same thing, to stand faithful without wavering against his enemies and God would reward him. It takes courage to stand against your enemies. God’s Holy Spirit gives you the courage you need. Stand, and remain faithful, and God will reward you. Let’s pray: Father, help me stand strong and courageous for you, never wavering when Satan comes against me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 17 November 2019 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay. Only topic-related comments accepted.