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“What were you thinking?” is a common refrain after watching someone who you care about make a huge blunder. We have all been on the giving or receiving end of that critique after an ill-advised decision. Sometimes even when we know all the right facts and potential consequences, poor decisions are made. There are times when all of us want to step back in time to re-write a moment of personal history. But since re-do’s are rare in life, keeping “What was I thinking?” moments to a minimum is essential.

I have a little known friend from Scripture who showed me great wisdom and the way to live, before he made me want to say, “What were you thinking?”. In the life of Asa, we are given a great picture of beginning well, but not ending so well. Let his life teach you as it has taught me.

From the book of II Chronicles view the king of Judah, blessed by God. Note some details from chapters 14-15.

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of God…

There were years when not one was at war with him, because God chose to give him rest…

He led the people in seeking God…

In a battle, we see his focus with these words, “Lord there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army”. They won…

Large numbers came to him from Israel because they saw the Lord was with him…

He disposed of his own grandmother from her position as queen mother and destroyed her idols…

He was very committed to the Lord…

But “what was he thinking” in Chapter Sixteen? A man who had trusted God so well, made a huge blunder and took money from the Lord’s temple to get protection from a heathen king. A man who knew better, drifted from a life of blessings. Look at the depth of his fall in the words of verse twelve. “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from physicians”.

I can’t explain exactly what happened, but the results speak for themselves. He was confronted throughout life with “trust” moments. Just like we are! He made good choices along the journey, but also some “what was he thinking?” choices. It would be easy to just condemn my friend Asa. But we have all known failure at an opportunity to trust our Father. I wonder at the very end of his life if Asa wondered, “what was I thinking?”

You and I will be confronted with choices to trust the Father today, tomorrow, next week, and for the rest of our lives. How we navigate those choices will determine our spiritual legacy. Trusting Him above our emotions and human logic will sometimes be tough, but in the end, we will be glad we did. Asa’s life speaks volumes to us about the two sides of the trust coin. When we trust Him to call it in the air, it’s “heads” up every time. When we use our “heads”, we bruise our “tails” every time.