July 29, 2010

Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what should I do about the silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this!”

-2 Chronicles 25:9

Amaziah learned the lesson of unquestioning obedience. He had already invested one hundred talents of silver to hire ungodly mercenary troops from Israel for help in the battle against Edom. Then the prophet instructed him to refuse any allies that were not on the Lord’s side, even if they had already been paid. Amaziah faced a tough choice: to lose his investment and follow God, or keep his investment and be on his own.

Losing a job, money, or investments is never as great a loss as that of losing the presence of God. Paul admonishes, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is” (Romans 12:2).

Life is full of tough decisions in which you must choose between God’s will and apparent wealth, fame, or strength. In actuality, the Lord can give you much more than anything you sacrifice for Him (2 Chronicles 25:10). Never value any worldly thing more than you value being in the peace and rest of God. Choose God’s way, for as Romans

8:31 promises, if God is for you, who can be against you?

Daily Readings: 2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28 • Romans 12:1-21
• Psalm 22:19-31 • Proverbs 20:8-10

The One Year Devotional used by permission from Bethany World Prayer Center and Pastor Larry Stockstill . For more information, please see www.bethany.com or www.bccn.com.