Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded (II Chronicles 15:7). What causes a child of God to start out strong in the Lord and be ready to do whatever He calls on them to and then fail? The answer is that they lose their dedication to the Lord, and they neglect the time they should be spending with Him.

King Solomon started out strong in the Lord. Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father (I Kings 3:3). But later, he failed God because he didn’t stay on fire for the Lord; and he let himself get comfortable and neglectful.

In the beginning of Solomon’s reign, God recognized his dedication and his love for the truth in the Word. In fact, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, Ask what I shall give thee (I Kings 3:5). The Lord wanted to reward Solomon for his dedication and faithfulness, and I’m sure He would have given Solomon anything he asked for; but instead of asking for riches or a long and prosperous life, Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God’s people.

Solomon first said, And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in (I Kings 3:7). At that time, Solomon was no longer a child; but that was his way of letting the Lord know that he was inexperienced and needed the Lord’s guidance.

Solomon went on to say, And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people (I Kings 3:8,9)?

The Lord was so pleased with Solomon’s request that He gave him much more than just the wisdom and knowledge he had requested. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days (I Kings 3:13,14). That is just like our God. When we have a heart dedicated toward Him and His ways, He will bless us above and beyond what we ask for.

King Solomon Failed

King Solomon started out strong in the Lord; but unfortunately, he ended his 40-year-reign by failing God. What happened to King Solomon and his dedication to the Lord?—neglect. When you neglect something, you give it little attention or discard it altogether. King Solomon was so preoccupied with his wealth, his prosperity and his many wives that he neglected his relationship with the Lord and lost his dedication to his true calling.

Solomon was to have led God’s people in holiness and righteousness and showed the world a nation that was under the leadership of a true and living God; but instead, he married heathen women who corrupted his thinking and turned his heart to idol worship. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father (I Kings 11:4). He was such a disappointment to God!

God had given everything to Solomon. He had blessed him with great wisdom, fame, wealth and a reputation that spread across the known world. The Queen of Sheba heard of King Solomon’s fame, and she traveled from a far country to see for herself if the rumors were true. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard (I Kings 10:6,7). There was no other kingdom as great as Solomon’s in the entire world, but that all changed when he lost his dedication to the Lord.

Be Careful Who You Spend Time With

Child of God, the same thing will happen to you if you lose your dedication to the Lord and your zeal for His work. When you are riding high with God’s blessings and everything is going great in your life, that is the time to be careful not to neglect the Lord. King Solomon became careless in his relationship with the Lord. He compromised and disobeyed God by marrying women who were not of the household of faith, and their evil ways corrupted him.

Are you associating with people in the world when you don’t have to? Do you hang out with sinners on a regular basis? Of course, there are times when you have to be around people who are not serving God; but do you constantly seek their company and companionship? If you are friends with the wrong people, you need to separate because you can be in danger of losing your devotion to the Lord. The devil will slowly creep in until all of a sudden, your dedication to the Lord will be gone.

King Asa Loved the Lord

King Asa is another example of someone who started out with a lot of zeal and dedication towards God, but he let self get in the way. Asa was the third king of Judah. His father had been king before him, and he was a wicked man; but the Bible says, Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God (II Chronicles 14:2).

At that time, the people of Judah worshipped idols because of the failure of King Solomon, Asa’s great grandfather. But King Asa didn’t care who had worshipped idols before him or what his friends and family thought; he was going to serve the true and living God, and he proved it by his actions. For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves (II Chronicles 14:3).

Asa was determined to stand for truth and lead the people under the leadership of God with no compromise. He didn’t even allow his mother, the queen, to get away with idol worship. She made an idol in the grove, but King Asa had it destroyed and then removed her from being queen. And Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron (II Chronicles 15:16).

That shows complete dedication to the Lord. King Asa put God first in his life, and his dedication to God brought rest in Judah for 10 years.

Keep Your Eyes on God

Later, testing time came in King Asa’s life, and an army of one million Ethiopians came to fight against Judah. King Asa’s army was only about half that size, but Asa did not look to any person for help or consider surrendering; he looked to God and prayed, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled (II Chronicles 14:11,12). Judah received the victory because King Asa depended on the Lord.

What do you do when trials and troubles come your way? Do you run after people hoping they can solve your problems, or do you cry out to the Lord for help? God will always be there for you in the good times and the bad times if you stay dedicated to the Lord.

Later, King Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin received a warning from God through the prophet Azariah. Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you (II Chronicles 15:2).

The formula has remained the same from the beginning of time—if you seek the Lord, you will find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. You must never neglect your relationship with the Lord; always stay dedicated to His calling for you.

King Asa Lost His Dedication

There was peace in the land of Judah when the people made a covenant to serve the Lord with their whole hearts; but over time, King Asa neglected his relationship with the Lord. Because of that, he made a bad decision when the King of Israel came up against Judah; and instead of seeking the Lord for help, Asa made a deal with the king of Syria. And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand… Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars (II Chronicles 16:7,9). God wanted King Asa to depend on Him for help and deliverance so He could get the glory, not the king of Syria.

How many times have you done things your own way without seeking God for help? God was right there to help you, and He was waiting for you to ask; but you didn’t look to Him. How many times have you robbed God of showing His glory in your life because you depended on people instead of Him? You must always give God the first opportunity to move for you.

Some people think their way is right even when they are told it is wrong, and that is what happened with King Asa. A man of God told him what the Lord had to say about what he had done, but Asa got so mad that he threw the man of God in prison. Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing (II Chronicles 16:10).

When King Asa lost his humility and dedication to God, everything went downhill; and he ended up dying from a terrible foot disease. Take a lesson from Asa and always look to the Lord first.

Let Your Light Shine

God could have healed King Asa from that terrible disease, but he would not humble himself and seek God for a miracle; and you can see the same thing happening today. People all over the world are dying with terrible sicknesses and diseases that the doctors have no cure for; yet when they are offered prayer from this Jesus ministry, they turn away because they don’t believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ.

God wants people to humble themselves before Him so He can give them the miracles or deliverances they need. The Bible tells us that faith in God heals the sick. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up (James 5:15).

King Asa did so much good the first 35 years of his reign that three other tribes dedicated and renewed their covenant to the Lord because they saw how much the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were being blessed. And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul (II Chronicles 15:12).

People will notice when you live for the Lord. They will see the blessings in your life, and they will want what you have. The anointing will go forth, and they will see the light of Jesus and a Jesus smile coming forth; but if you become self-reliant like King Asa, you will lose your dedication to the Lord. Then you will eventually fail in doing the whole will of God.

Prove Your Calling

Remember, you can lose your dedication to God through neglect, but the opposite of neglect is care. If you care about something, you will have concern and regard for it.

Do you care about your relationship with the Lord, or do you look at your salvation as just a means to make it into Heaven? When Jesus came to Earth to die on the Cross for our sins, it wasn’t just so we could make it into Heaven; it was so we could also have a divine relationship with God, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Jesus gave all He had; and He never lost His dedication or zeal for His calling, not even when He was suffering horrible pain and agony on the Cross.

Stephen proved his dedication to his calling when he was faced with an angry crowd that was about to stone him to death for believing and teaching that Jesus was the Son of God. He could have walked away and saved his own skin, but he had a great relationship with the Lord because he had not neglected it.

Many of Stephen’s accusers thought they had a great relationship with God too, but they were all hypocrites; and Stephen set them straight saying, Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye (Acts 7:51). People may say they are a Christian; but if they resist the power of the Holy Ghost, they are not dedicated to the Lord and His calling.

Never Lose Your Zeal

Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He said, It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you (John 16:7). Child of God, are you dedicated to receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or have you lost your zeal? Have you let other things and responsibilities take the place of tarrying in the Upper Room until you receive that power from On High? Without the Holy Ghost, you will be left behind when the Rapture takes place. Then the things you put ahead of seeking for the Holy Ghost won’t matter anymore.

You can’t neglect your spiritual walk with the Lord and expect to be ready when the Rapture takes place. The race is almost over, so don’t give up when the finish line is in view. Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded (II Chronicles 15:7).

We all have a calling, and that is to go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The Lord is depending on us to be totally dedicated to our calling and to get the harvest of souls in before it is too late.

Have you lost your zeal to fulfill God’s calling in your life? If so, now is the time to rededicate yourself to the Lord. If you are a sinner or a backslider, you can’t keep running from the Lord and think He will never catch up with you. You can’t hide from God because He sees everything. Jesus loves you, and He wants you to give your heart to Him. Say the sinner’s prayer located on page 5 of this magazine. If you seek the Lord, you will find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.