Are You Missing Out?

F.O.M.O. The Fear of Missing Out. With our ubiquitous screens and social media incessantly providing us with new things to see in the world or in our friends’ lives, many of us suffer from the feeling that we are missing out on something if we lose that connectivity. You may or may not really be missing out on something by not catching the latest TikTok video or meme but we all are at risk to miss out something much more important. It is possible to live our lives and completely miss out on what God will do in us and for us. 

2 Chronicles 16 tells the story of a man named King Asa. He was generally a good and godly king (2 Chron. 14:2) but at the end of his life he ended up missing out on what God would have done for him. When faced with a threat from his northern neighbor, King Baasha of Israel, King Asa formed a political alliance with the Arameans to extricate himself from the situation. His plan worked and King Baasha withdrew. At first glance, it seems like Asa did something good. But God knew what was really going on beneath the surface.

The Lord sent a prophet (2 Chron. 16:7) named Hanani to Asa to tell him that he had made a mistake by not relying on the Lord. Hanani reminded Asa that when he had previously faced threats from his enemies, he had relied upon the Lord (see 2 Chron. 14:11) and been victorious. Then Hanani says these words: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is fully His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” (2 Chron. 16:9). 

This is a strong statement. The Lord sent this message to Asa that by trusting in his own plans instead of the Lord he was missing out on God’s help. The Lord is telling Asa that things would have gone much better for him if he had relied on Him instead of his own plans. Asa forfeited God’s help because he forgot God’s character.

We can forget that his eyes “move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is fully his.” To say it another way: God is looking to help us but if we want to receive his help we must look to Him. We know this must be true because God looked for us when we were helpless and sent His own Son to save us from our sins (Romans 5:6-8). 

Are you relying on the Lord today? Is your heart completely His? All of us can make this our prayer today: Lord, let me heart be completely yours today.

If you’d like to dive deeper into this passage check out my sermon on this passage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aNygSsmcA0