For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which had defeated him, for he said, Since the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. – 2 Chronicles 28:23, Amplified Bible (AMP)

I am no expert on pop culture music, and I am horrible when it comes to remembering words and titles to songs. On several occasions, however, I’ve heard an old pop song that has the following line in it:

Looking for love in all the wrong places.

Unfortunately, people not only look for love in the wrong places, they also look for help in the wrong places.

In 2 Chronicles 28, Judah’s King Ahaz brought God’s wrath upon his country because of his wicked idol worship. In an effort to better his tough circumstances, he didn’t do what he should have done, which is repent of his sins and give control of his life to The Lord. Instead, he piled insult upon injury by snuggling up to the very idols that God was trying to tear him away from. Ahaz’s human logic made him think, “If I do what the Syrians do, I’ll get the results the Syrians get,” which was victory in battle. But, in reality, his logic didn’t win him victory. It earned him total defeat.

We Christians often make the same mistake Ahaz did when things aren’t going our way. Rather than turn to God and to His Word for guidance, we turn to worldly wisdom in an attempt to solve our problems. When we do so, we do so to our hurt. God will not abide us having any other gods before Him, and if we worship at the altar of human wisdom, that is exactly what we are doing. To help us see the folly of our ways, God will actively oppose our efforts to solve our problems without Him, and He will continue to do so until we realize that there is no path to true success apart from total reliance upon Him.

If you are guilty (as I have been) of looking for help in all the wrong places, ask God to forgive you for doing so. Then, ask Him to provide you with the faith and with the trust to follow His prescribed method of success from now on.