he was strong and did not set his heart to seek the lord...

When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.
(2 Chronicles 12:1, 14)

i came across these verses this week and it was big wake up call. when rehoboam was established and strong he abandoned the law of the lord. basically, when he felt comfortable and things were running smoothly, he quit seeking the lord and started coasting.  trusting in himself perhaps or his systems or his plans or his people.  whatever he was trusting in it caused him to abandon the lord. and since he was not setting his heart to seek god, he eventually did evil.  he fell.  he made poor decisions, selfish decisions, cowardly decisions, etc because they were decisions based on his wisdom, wants, and need to keep close what he was relying on for security.  and not only did he fall, but he led his people with him.

sad story, but one that has an all too familiar ring to it as well.  i like reheboam forget my need and complete dependence on the lord when things are going well and succeeding and i feel strong.  so my tendency is to coast and or boast (please forgive the rhyming here). if everything is going well and i am not actively pursuing the lord, i will find some way to boast about all that i have done - but rest assured this boasting will be disguised in a very christian way so i do not look arrogant to you.  my other tendency of things are going well, is to just coast. to not actively pursue the lord but to just enjoy this.  the problem is that i do not see that i need him all the time, even when things are going well. but my wicked prideful heart just doesn't see that. and the worst part about this, is that i have inadvertently led many of those who follow me to do the same. my failure to set my heart to seek the lord has caused countless other to put their trust in something else other than jesus and this has led them to evil.

so this is a good reminder for me to set my heart to seek the lord, no matter how i feel. i believe that if i am not actively doing that, then i am prone to fall prey to the one who is always actively seeking to devour me and lead others to do the same.