https://odb.org/MY/2022/12/19/standing-firm-by-faith
The story of King Ahaz of Judea seeking an alliance with Assyria when he heard of Israel combining forces with Aram to attack Jerusalem is one of the well-known stories of the Old Testament illustrating the folly of relying on our own strength instead of God. This is despite the LORD having spoken to Isaiah and his son to tell King Ahaz to stand firm. The verse is Isaiah 7:9 – “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” This is because when Ahaz heard of the alliance, he and his people were fearful, “shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (Isaiah 7:2).
King Ahaz’s action was compounded by the fact that God had actually spoken to him to hang on and not to panic. Instead, he took matters into his own hands and ended up fulfilling the prophesy. Saul did the same thing, and the consequences were dire.
An important lesson of faith for us as believers is that we need to trust God and rely on Him instead of taking matters into our own. Perhaps in our case, it is less clear-cut as we are not likely to have an oracle of God speaking to us directly like Isaiah did to King Ahaz. Yet we must find God’s voice in the midst of our turmoil and indecision. It’s something we need to learn and cultivate as there will be many instances in our lives that we will need to use this skill and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. We need to be like Elijah – finding the still small voice of the LORD amidst the thunder and the lightning. Start to seek God and find His voice in the smaller things in life, and then as we mature in the faith, we will know His direction and guidance in the bigger things in our lives or even for the church. The answer that is quite obvious to the world may not be the right one in God, as clearly seen in the case of King Ahaz.
Ronnie's Thoughts 