Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army.

2 Chronicles 14:9-13

9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. 11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.” 12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.


Today’s title is “Powerless Against the Mighty”

Man is great in many ways. We are frequently awe-struck by the amazing things that humans have made. I still remember how I felt when I was standing at the pyramid in Egypt. Humans were able to build such a great tomb thousand of years ago. Look what they have achieved now with the great modern civilization. It almost seems as if they have reached the top of the tower of Babel that was interrupted by God when their predecessors became so arrogant. What do you think? It is true that man has a greatness that has no parallel in the world. But do you know what? Man has great weakness and frailty as well. Man is highly limited in the span and space of life. They may know and do something. But that’s like a drop in a bucket compared to the unknown and undone. They may figure out great galaxies that are light-years away. But they don’t know what’s in store for them a few moments away too. If a man really knows who he is, I am sure that he would dare not boast in what he has done. Then, how can we really know who we are? We know who we are best when we know God. People boast in themselves mostly because they don’t know God. When we know God, we come to know how powerless we are. Will the knowledge of his own powerlessness discourage man? Not at all, only if you know God. The greatness of God fills the vacuum of man’s frailty. Today’s passage shows a good example of that. Cushite Army marched against the Judah. They were a formidable army with three hundred chariots and a vast number of soldiers. Asa, the king of Judah became terrified at the sight of the Cushite army. It was so clear that his own army would be no match to them. His own army looked so pitiful before the mighty army of Cushites! This scene reminds me of many moments in my life where I was completely terrified like Asa. Here were many times that my enemies or the tasks or responsibilities before me were so overwhelming. Have you also had such moments? I am sure you have. What did you do? I think I didn’t know what to do at all at first. Then, I began to learn what Asa did here. Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord, our God, for we rely on you, and in your name, we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.” Asa was right. God heard the desperate prayer of the powerless and struck down the Cushites. Yes, we were no match to Cushites. But Cushites were even more so to God. How powerless do you feel about yourself? How desperate are you? If your know it truly, it is a blessing. A lot of people still do not have that knowledge. Now you only need to cry out like Asa, for, there is no one like our God to help the powerless against the mighty. Amen!