It is God's desire that we finish well. Solomon didn't. Asa didn't. But we can.2 Chronicles 14-16 is the story of King Asa’s reign in Judah. Asa was one of Judah’s good kings. He established reforms in the land that ended pagan idolatry during his long rule. The Bible says because of this King Asa and Judah had a long period of peace during his time. Asa only had two conflicts while he was King and was victorious in both. Yet the story doesn’t end well for Asa. During his final years, Asa stopped seeking the Lord. He turned to foreign alliances for political security instead of praying for God’s guidance. He stopped listening to the voice of God through the prophet Hanani, and imprisoned the prophet when he brought a corrective word from God. And finally Asa fell ill and sought the aid of physicians, who in his day were more like sorcerers, and again did not seek God. Like his great grandfather Solomon, Asa is the story of a man who began well but ended poorly.
In 2 Chronicles 15:2 the prophet Azariah says to Asa, “The Lord is with you when you are with Him, if you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” The Bible is full of promises that God will be found by those who seek Him. But often those who find Him become comfortable in their circumstances and forget about God when life is going well. Many who start out well end poorly.
It is God’s desire for his children that we finish well. Solomon didn’t, Asa didn’t, but we can. This week we will look at God’s provision for us to finish well both in our own lives and in the life of the church seeking to sustain and grow revival.
