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I begin with a question: Where does your help come from? On whom do you rely for strength? Do you rely on self? That would be self-reliance. Can you ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ as the saying goes? In whom do you put your trust?

The phrase, “In God We Trust” is the official motto of the United States. The phrase was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1956. The origins of that phrase lie in the time of the Civil War when Union supporters wanted to emphasize their reliance on God. It was printed on US paper currency in the late 1950s after it was approved by a joint resolution of Congress and signed into law by President Eisenhower. The law required that the phrase, “In God We Trust” appear on all American currency.

The problem is that it is no longer true. The nation no longer relies on God and in fact great efforts have been made to remove God from all its institutions. I submit that the farther the nation removes itself from God, the weaker it will become.

There is a great spiritual principle at work. This principle applies whether it be a person, a people, or a nation. When you rely on God you are strengthened and increased. When you turn away from God and rely on anything else as a source of strength, you become weaker. This is true for person, a people, or a nation. It’s a question of faith.

That brings us to 2 Chronicle 16. The nation of Israel was at that point divided; ten tribes in the north, two tribes in the south – Judah and Benjamin. The king in the south was King Asa, great-grandson of King Solomon.

No longer was Israel the great nation it had once become. Under King David and Solomon, they were a world power. The nations around them brought tribute in recognition of the strength of a nation that relied on God.

Their downfall began shortly after they reached the pinnacle of their strength. Solomon built a temple to honor God. That temple was one of the great wonders of the world. But then he began to build altars to foreign gods. He had married many foreign women and his heart began to be drawn away from the God of his father toward the gods of his many wives.

The result was predictable. There was a great spiritual principle at work. Solomon no longer relied on God’s help or God’s strength and the nation became weaker.

In 2 Chronicle 16, Solomon’s great-grandson Asa was king of Israel in the south. At first, he did good and right in the sight of the Lord. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, God of their fathers, and to observe God’s laws and commandments.

The result was good, God blessed them and gave them rest on every side and they prospered. Asa even built an army of more than 500,000 bearing shields and spears.

At one point, an army from Ethiopia came out against him with an army of a million men. When Asa went out to meet them, they drew up in battle formation and Asa called out to the Lord his God for help, saying, “Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name, we have come against this great multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” What an amazing prayer!

The Lord routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled before them. They carried away great plunder and returned to Jerusalem.

As they returned to Jerusalem, the Spirit of God came upon a prophet who came out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you…. But as for you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is great reward for you.”

These words encouraged King Asa and it caused him to gather all Judah and Benjamin to renew their commitment to God, to seek the Lord with all their heart… Even those from the north who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel in the north when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. So much for the so-called lost ten tribes of Israel. God always has a remnant!


Pastor Rich Jones
Pastor Matthew Dodd
Pastor Jean Marais
Rich Jones Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel Worship Center
Calvary Chapel Hillsboro
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