God's Security Blanket

OT: 2 Chronicles 27-28
NT: 2 Corinthians 1:1-5

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2 Chronicles 28:16-22 — At that time King Ahaz sent to the king of Assyria for help. The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners, while the Philistines had raided towns in the foothills and in the Negev of Judah. The LORD had humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD. Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help. Ahaz took some of the things from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace and from the princes and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him. In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.

Most children have some object that they hold onto when they are scared. For some it is a blanket. My little sister absolutely adored her blanket and when it came time to part ways, one might think she was having a limb cut off! When I was a little boy I also had a blanket but of more value to me was a pillow. I called it my "Security pillow." It went with me on all family road trips and faithfully sat on my bed every day. Whenever I was afraid, all I had to do was squeeze the pillow tight to find comfort. God's security covers us like a blanket and soothes all levels of emotional and spiritual fear. But when we forget to put on His blanket and come to Him in prayer, we can feel awfully isolated and scared.

Ahaz was a wicked king of Judah who totally forgot that the Lord was a security blanket that he could access at any time. When times got tough as a result of his own wickedness and the that of his people, Ahaz did not turn to the Lord for security. In fact, he did everything else -- including consulting the king of a powerful and growing empire, Assyria. Would Assyria come to his rescue? Nope. Problem worse. Now Assyria is interested in having Judah as a prize. One generation later, the king of Assyria would lay siege to Jerusalem in an attempt to take it. No, Ahaz needed to consult the Lord, the God of Israel. But he never did and the nation suffered as a whole. We would be wise to turn the Lord first for security in times of trouble. Don't leave the Lord last on your list of "fixes." Put Him first. He's more than capable of covering you with His blanket and sheltering you through your times of trouble.

Be God's.