Ezra the author tells us the tale of Jehoshaphat's father, Asa, a man who began his reign doing "what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God" but finished somewhere far from that place.

We look at his passion and purpose in worshipping, and commanding his people to worship, Yahweh Elohiym, the One True God; we watch his reforms, his prayer for deliverance and phenomenal victory over an army a million strong, and finally his downfall.

Reminder after reminder after reminder that even in times of peace, tests of faith / trials of strength are a fact of life in a fallen world. They're neither strange nor out of place nor unbearable in the Lord's strength.

Accepting and embracing this makes it a whole lot easier to trust Jesus' guiding hand and gracious heart in the midst of them. Amen?