2 Chronicles 25:2 (NLT) Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.

King Amaziah, king of Judah, started off his reign with some success. He made some right moves and listened to the prophet sent by God when he was told not to hire extra fighters for his army from Israel. He obeyed and sent the hired men home even though this made the men of Israel angry. He went on the fight the Edomites, who had revolted and separated themselves from Judah during the reign of his great-grandfather, King Jehoram. He fought them and won the battle but since he was not wholeheartedly devoted to God, instead of thanking God, he set up some idols that he had taken from the Edomites that he defeated and bowed down before them and offered sacrifices to them. God sent a prophet to tell Amaziah that He was very displeased with what he did but Amaziah only threatened to kill the prophet if he didn’t stop talking. He then got it in his head that he was going to go and fight the armies of Israel (the Northern ten tribes). The king of Israel warned him to stay home and not pick a fight with him but King Amaziah was feeling good about himself after defeating the Edomites and thought that he could defeat Israel as well, even though they had a larger army. Judah was routed by Israel and Amaziah was captured. Later on, he was assassinated.

King Amaziah, had success for a little while, but then disaster came his way. Actually, everyone should have seen that coming because when someone is not serving the Lord wholeheartedly, they will eventually go their own way, turning away from Him. Once you turn away from God, all bets are off. You will do some things that you never thought you would do and will make some of the most unwise moves you can make. In other words, left to your own devices, you will end up in a bad state. But when you don’t wholeheartedly serve the Lord in the first place, it is just a matter of time before you go way off of the right path or abandon God altogether. There is no ability to endure in your faith when you are not wholeheartedly devoted to God. To give God just a part of your heart, even if it’s a big part, is to not give your heart to Him at all. God doesn’t take second place in your heart and whatever part you are holding back for yourself will cause you to fall away. Don’t be like King Amaziah, who was like an accident waiting to happen. Give God your whole heart to protect you from yourself and from ruining your life by falling away.

Pastor Joey Vazquez