Trust in the Lord from Start to Finish

by Rolaant McKenzie

July 6, 2025

Since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has engaged in more than 45 years of hostility against Israel, challenging its right to exist and calling for its destruction. Leaders of Iran have many times declared Israel to be a cancerous tumor that must be removed and eradicated. This animosity has fueled decades of deadly proxy conflict, with Iran funding and arming Islamic terror organizations such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen to attack Israel. Following through on their genocidal rhetoric, Iranian leaders have pursued a nuclear weapons program to wipe Israel out of existence.

Israel has severely weakened the military capabilities of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen since Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Emboldened by these successes and fearing Iran to be on the verge of being able to produce nuclear weapons, Israel launched a surprise attack against Iran directly on June 13, 2025, by bombing critical nuclear and military facilities, destroying air defenses, and assassinating many of Iran’s top military, political, and scientific leaders.

But there remained several key nuclear sites that Israel could not destroy, for they were built too deep underground and were beyond the range of the bombs in Israel’s arsenal. Because of this, Israel earnestly sought the direct intervention of the United States to help complete the mission, for its military weaponry included bunker buster bombs that could reach these underground facilities. On June 21, 2025, the U.S. entered the conflict and proclaimed the mission accomplished after reportedly destroying them and other military targets.

But as U.S. and Israeli political and military leaders praised their efforts and declared victory, some U.S. and Israeli intelligence officials warned that if the damage done to Iran’s nuclear weapons program was overestimated and the current regime in Iran remains, Israel could be at war with a resurgent Iran in the near future under worse conditions, such as the direct involvement of Russia and other nations along with Iran (Ezekiel 38-39).

Many in Israeli society and its leadership can be characterized as being secular and non-religious. They are likely to have greater trust in their military strength and that of the U.S. than in God. This misdirected faith can bring seemingly short-term advantages but lead to errors in judgment and disastrous consequences.

However, a time will come in the last days when the people of Israel, faced with destruction that surpasses their ability to prevent, will seek the Lord and His goodness and be saved by Him (Hosea 3:4-5; Zechariah 12-14; Revelation 19:11-21).

Asa became king of Judah (911-870 BC) after the brief, three-year reign of his father, Abijah. He was faithful to God and did what was good and right in His sight. Asa embarked on a spiritual reformation of the kingdom by opposing idolatry and calling on his people to seek the Lord and follow Him. He tore down throughout Judah the altars to foreign gods in the high places, the sacred pillars, and the wooden images. Asa was so dedicated to this effort that he banished the sodomites from the land and removed his grandmother from being queen mother for her unrepentant idolatry against God (1 Kings 15:12-13). Because the king was loyal to God, the Lord blessed the land with peace for ten years, and the people built and prospered.

Following the decade of peace, Zerah the Ethiopian amassed an army of a million men and 300 chariots. He came to conquer Judah, who had an army of only 580,000 men. Asa remembered when his father, Abijah, was attacked by the army of King Jeroboam of Israel, which was twice the size of Judah’s, and that he and the men of Judah cried out to the Lord and trusted in Him, and the Lord helped them defeat Jeroboam with a remarkable triumph (2 Chronicles 13). Asa understood that God’s power was not limited because the army of Judah was smaller, so he prayed to the Lord:

“LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” (2 Chronicles 14:11)

The Lord God fought on behalf of Asa and Judah and routed the Ethiopians in a great deliverance and overwhelming victory.

On the heels of Asa’s success, God sent the prophet Azariah to encourage him to remain faithful to the Lord and not lose courage, and Asa heeded his words and continued his reforms in leading the nation to seek the Lord with a whole heart (2 Chronicles 15).

War came to Judah again in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign when Baasha, king of Israel, came against Judah and built the fortress city of Ramah to prevent access to Jerusalem for religious and trade reasons. It was Baasha’s intent to use his military and economic pressure to dominate Judah and cause the kingdom to capitulate to his will.

However, Asa did not seek the Lord as he did in previous years. He robbed God by emptying His house of the silver and gold dedicated to Him. Asa added to this the gold and silver from his house and sent them to Ben-Hadad, the pagan king of Aram, in Damascus so that he would break his treaty with Baasha and cause him to withdraw from Judah. Ben-Hadad received Asa’s bribe and sent his army to seize territory in northern Israel, causing Baasha to abandon Ramah and withdraw from Judah.

Asa may have felt relieved that Baasha’s blockade was broken by Ben-Hadad, but the Lord was not pleased. He sent the prophet Hanani to rebuke Asa for his lack of trust in the Lord. Hanani reminded Asa of the huge Ethiopian army that came to devour Judah many years before and how he relied on the Lord at that time, who delivered them into his hand. By seeking Ben-Hadad to save him instead of the Lord, the greater enemy, the kingdom of Aram had escaped to become a regional power that would threaten Israel for several generations. The rest and peace Asa had when he trusted in the Lord ended, and war would be his lot for the remainder of his days.

Unlike the time when Asa listened to the word of the Lord through Azariah, he refused to humble himself before God and became enraged at Hanani, whom he threw into prison. He also began to oppress some of the people in his wrath. A few years later, Asa contracted a severe foot disease. Even in this extremity he did not seek the Lord for healing but perished relying on the physicians (2 Chronicles 16).

Approximately three centuries later, the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. … Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

In his pamphlet, “The American Crisis,” written in late 1776 during the Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine wrote of “the times that try men’s souls.” Most of us have faced or are facing a time that tries the soul. It may come in the form of a tough, life-altering diagnosis for yourself or a loved one, an unexpected layoff from work, or something worse. You may be wondering how you will get through this crisis or how you will be able to take care of yourself and your family. The temptation will come to doubt God’s goodness and faithfulness and seek your own way to deal with what is confronting you.

Do not be like Asa near the end of his reign, whose life finished poorly because he placed his trust in man instead of God, to his own hurt and that of Judah and Israel.

Be like Asa early in his reign when faced with an existential threat. He followed the words of his grandfather, King Solomon, who said,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Remember the times in your life when things seemed hopeless from a human standpoint, but the Lord delivered you out of dire situations and provided for you and your family. God knows all things and has more ways than you can see to work out whatever crisis you are facing for your good and to His glory (Matthew 6:25-34; Romans 8:28).

The men and women listed in Hebrews 11 are often called the “Hall of Faith” because of their trust in God that characterized their lives, and the readers of this epistle are encouraged to emulate these heroes of the Old Testament who looked forward to a better, heavenly country and a new city made by God for them. But this list ends with the ultimate example to follow, that is, Jesus Christ, who encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” because He is “the author and perfecter of our faith.” He endured excruciating suffering on the cross to completely atone for the transgressions of sinners and rose again from the dead to sit down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-3).

More than yourself or any man, Jesus Christ is utterly reliable and trustworthy. Let not your faith in Him falter, for His provision for you and salvation cannot fail. Trust in the Lord Jesus from start to finish, for He will bring you safely home when your race on earth is done.

© 2025 Rolaant McKenzie – All Rights Reserved

E-Mail Rolaant McKenzie: [email protected]

Website: http://www.gospeloutreach.net/