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.

2 Chronicles 16:7-12

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”
10 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.
11 The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 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.

Today’s title is “Finishing Well Matters”
Asa was one of the better kings in the history of Israel. He was humble and faithful before God in the early years of his reign. God saw it and blessed him in many ways. God saved him from ferocious invaders such as Egyptians and Cushites who wielded mighty powers. I believe some of Asa’s words and are one of the greatest anthologies of the Bible and worthy to be ingrained in the hearts of all Christians. One that I personally love is his prayer to God when he was facing the mighty Cushite army. He said, “ Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord, our God, for we rely on you, and in your name, we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”. This prayer shows his wholehearted trust in the mighty God. He not only believed it in his mind but acted on such trust right before the huge enemy. He started and led the great spiritual revival of the kingdom. So we are surprised and shocked at his sudden about-face as we see in today’s passage. Here, the seer or prophet Hanani rebuked Asa as relying on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God. At the rebuke, Asa didn’t humble and repent before God. He rather gets angry at Hanani and puts him in prison. Not only did he put Hananiah in prison, but he brutally oppressed some of the people. Hanani’s words were proved to be true later on when he did not seek help from the Lord but only from the physicians for his afflicted feet. What happened to Asa? What caused him to make such an about-face? We will never know. But what we know is that potentially anybody can make such a bad about-face of faith despite such an admirable past. For some, old age trigger lose faith, For others, youthful pride can cause fall. For some, long and delayed answers to prayers can dry them spiritually. Others become too proud after miraculous answers and blessings from God. In short, we are all so vulnerable that we can fall into backsliding at any time. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! ( 1st Corinthians 10:12). But when you fall, don’t forget what the Lord said, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again (Provers 24:16). Which words do you need to heed now?