Our Feet: Beautiful or Diseased?
May 2021
There is a window through which we can “see” why King Asa’s diseased feet progressively became worse (2 Chronicles 16). Without this insight we may not understand why God acted as He did. After all, Asa did that which was sensible; he sought professional help from the physicians.
The window is God’s Word, and the window frame is Asa’s heart. Through the inspired Word we can see his heart was as diseased as his feet. Verses 7-9 of 2 Chronicles 16 tells us that Asa could have had peace from all wars if he had only relied on God to achieve that rather than relying on the King of Syria. I imagine the diseased feet that Asa would eventually die from represented God’s grace. Every day he suffered was a reminder that God’s grace awaited him—and Judah—if he only repented with a perfect heart towards Him (v.9). We can say that as the disease deepened and the pain increased, the call for repentance also intensified!
God is a jealous God! If His work is to be done His way, then He wants to do the work alone…only requiring our obedience from a perfect heart. If done so, not only grace would abound, but so would God’s peace to mankind! If Asa sought the Lord instead of the physicians, he would have known this, and he may have been spared—but more importantly, Judah could have had peace!
What are we relying on with our missions’ endeavors? If we say: “We are relying only on God!” then we must also allow our hearts and methods to be tested against God’s “seer”: His Word. If we do not reevaluate our hearts regularly, we may become angry with God’s messenger and hold him in contempt while we hold to our justifications for what and how we “do missions.” Asa threw God’s “seer,” Hanani, into prison because he (Hanani) said the quiet parts out loud. It was because of Asa’s hardened response to God’s grace that he died, and Judah continued to have wars.
I would venture to say that the feet of the church, which the Lord intended to be beautiful, are often diseased in much the same way as Asa’s because of not seeking the Lord with a perfect heart. (Romans 10:15)
Thankfully, we can find forgiveness which can bring health and healing to missions if we seek the Lord with all our hearts! (Jer. 29:13)
Asking of Him! (Ps. 2)
Rodney Myers – GFF General Director