Day 5

 

The Eyes of the LORD

 

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

 

 

2 Chronicles 16:9

 

Cletus Scrunchie was one of those kids who cut the sleeves out of his button up shirts. I was the smallest kid in the 7th grade, and I shared one of those black topped science desks with Cletus. Cletus was a couple of years older than me. It wasn't that I was a child prodigy that had moved up several grades because of my genius, it was because Cletus had the same IQ as the desk and had been held back a grade or two. What Cletus lacked in brain power he made up for in brawn.

 

Every time the science teacher would turn her back to the class to write something on the chalkboard, Cletus would punch me in the arm. As you can imagine this got really old and my arm got really sore. I suppose I could have told the teacher what was happening. Of course, if I had told the teacher I would have needed to give the teacher my last will and testament for safe keeping because Cletus would have surely got me for that.

 

I brought a sack lunch to school everyday and had it with me in science, which was my class right before lunch. From time to time I would get a head start on lunch by eating something in class while the teacher wasn't looking (and while I was being punched in the arm). One day I had a small box of raisins in my lunch and when I opened the raisins I saw my revenge on Cletus.

I whispered to Cletus, "Hey Cletus, do you want some raisins?"

 

"Sure."

 

"Here, eat them quick before the teacher looks."

 

Cletus quickly turned the box up to his mouth and gulped some raisins down.

"Hey Cletus," I whispered again. "Look in the bottom of the raisin box."

 

Cletus peered into the box and let out a loud scream. The raisins had gone bad and were filled with maggots.

 

When Cletus screamed the teacher turned around and asked what was wrong. "He gave me some wormy raisins and I ate them!"

 

Cletus didn't get the sympathy he was hoping for; he got a detention for eating in class. He informed me he was going to kill me. I told him, "Cletus, don't mess with me. I am smarter than you are and I will always get you back." Cletus decided to leave me alone from then on.

 

It was a spur of the moment clever plan that got me the relief that I wanted. Was it the best plan though? Did God have a better plan or were those worms God's provision? I'll never know because I never asked.

 

The southern kingdom of Israelites, Judah, had a problem. They were being attacked by, of all people, the northern kingdom of Israelites, Israel. Judah's king, Asa, came up with what seemed to be a brilliant solution. He took the gold and silver from the temple and his palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria to bribe him to attack Israel on it's northern border, so Israel would not be free to attack Judah on it's southern border. It was a brilliant plan and it worked to perfection. The Syrians attacked Israel, and Israel stopped harassing Judah. (2 Chronicles 16)

 

There was only one problem with the plan. It wasn't God's plan. God sent a seer to King Asa to let him know that God had a plan that included delivering the king of the Syrians into Judah's hands. Asa never knew that because Asa never asked. Out of his own cleverness Asa had solved the problem only to find out that God had a better plan.

 

That is the problem with being half-way smart. We think we can solve our own problems, and often times we do. We come up with solutions that are clever enough and work to a certain degree, but leave God out of the equation. Any solution that doesn't have God involved in some sort of way is not the best solution. You may find something that works, but it will not be what God is looking for.

 And what is God looking for? "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (2 Chronicles 16:9) If we are always coming up with our own solutions are our hearts fully committed to him?

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read 2 Chronicles 16:1-14

• Do you think the silver and gold in the treasury of the Temple was King Asa's to distribute as he pleased?
• Did Asa have good results when he relied on God before?
• In what other matter did Asa not call on God, and what was the result?