Focus on Heavenly Matters

In 2 Chronicles 25, King Amaziah of Judah is assembling his army. In doing so, he pays a large sum of silver to hire 100,000 soldiers from neighboring Israel.

But at this time, God is angry with Israel for turning from him. So a prophet tells Amaziah (verses 7-8, NLT),

Do not hire troops from Israel, for the Lord is not with Israel. ... If you let them go with your troops into battle, you will be defeated by the enemy no matter how well you fight. God will overthrow you, for he has the power to help you or to trip you up.

Upon hearing that warning, Amaziah should have trusted God. Instead, Amaziah is worried about the silver! (verse 9, NLT),

Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?”

Amaziah clear is focused more on earthly matters than he is on heavenly matters. The prophet then answers (verse 9, NLT),

The Lord is able to give you much more than this!

The lesson: God's power is infinitely greater than silver, fame, human praise, or any other earthly pursuit. In our prayers, let us turn our focus to heavenly matters, and place our trust in his salvation.