Lindsay L. O'Connor

This morning in my quiet time I read 2 Chronicles 14:11:

Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”

At first, it stood out to me simply as a great prayer because it acknowledges our weakness and the Lord’s strength. As I read it over again and thought about it some more, I thought about conversations we (the staff and faculty) have had at my school about the spiritual battle we are fighting as we teach our students about God and His Word. Sometimes cultural influences, environmental factors, and sin and the evil in this world seem overwhelming, and teaching students counter-cultural truths from the Word can feel like paddling hard up-stream. However, when I read this verse, I thought about myself as a teacher as the “powerless” in the scripture and sinful parts of our culture as both “the mighty” and “this vast enemy.” I know that we are all sinners and that not everything about our culture is bad–I love our country and appreciate many of the values held dear to Americans–but there are certain fundamental Biblical truths and values which are not held or supported by our society, culture, and media, as a whole.

And so, rather than be discouraged by “this vast enemy,” I was glad to find this encouragement and to remember that we do rely on God and that it is in His name we have come against this vast enemy. When we rely on God and work to accomplish His will, in His name, we must stand firm and be ready for the Lord to show Himself faithful.