Yesterday, I introduced the story of King Asa of Judah and how, when he turned the nation back to the Lord, they enjoyed a peace that had been quite scarce in the land.

However, as is too often the case, he gets comfortable and starts to forget that the Lord is the reason for his success and favor. He starts to waver in his faith and slowly shifts his trust away from God and toward man. Ugh!

In one story, Israel is setting up to do battle with him and Judah. Instead of seeking the Lord, Asa immediately strikes up an alliance with Syria, a foreign king, to help protect them.

God is not very pleased with this and tells him through a prophet that because he trusted in man and not God, he will now have wars.

Asa gets angry with the prophet and puts him in prison and starts to oppress the people.

He just goes downhill. It’s discouraging, but also a pattern that is repeated a lot in Scripture.

Then, at the end of the chapter we read this…

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians.

2nd Chronicles 16:12

As a physician myself, this verse really hit me. It seems that God is not necessarily upset with Asa for talking with doctors, but that he only sought help from physicians.

It was more of the same pattern of trusting in man more than the God who created him.

Let this be a lesson of humility to us physicians and a reminder to patients that God is our maker and healer. We cannot substitute the wisdom of God for the wisdom of man. It’s a bad trade.

Go to Him first!

Then come talk to me… if you even still need to. 🙂