2 Chron 14- 16 There are stories about those who start strong yet finish last. In today’s reading, we see Asa start as a faithful king, yet he becomes unfaithful at the end of his life. We struggle with these stories because, in some ways, it is a reflection of ourselves, and we fool ourselves by saying I won’t be like Asa. But, unfortunately, we are more like Asa than we care to admit.

So what went wrong with Asa? What goes wrong with us? Asa is a classic example of how we handle a crisis. It was then that that Asa feared men more than God. The Proverbs author reminds us that “the fear of man is a snare, BUT he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.” [Prov 29:25] Like Asa, we allow fear to control our decision-making.

Learn from Asa; don’t fall for the tempter’s lies. Make a conscious decision to do as James says; resist the devil, and he will flee. [James 4:7] Remember this truth: men will fail you every time but God will always be faithful. [Ps 118:8]

We could make a top ten list of why we fail, but at the number one spot is the fear of men. How do you handle the enemy of fear? Share your thoughts.