2 Chronicles 24

But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house. Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.

(2Ch 24:15-18)

This is so sad to me. Here we see the king and all of the leaders of Judah, and it seems that there spirituality was connected to this man Jehoiada the priest. When he died, their relationship with the Lord was gone. This is so tragic, and it should NEVER be like this. Joash and each one of these other men should have developed a relationship of their own with the Lord, rather than riding on the coat-tails of another man's faith.

We all need PERSONAL relationships with the Lord. It is good, even necessary to have godly men and women in our lives that we can look to for leadership… but if our relationship with God is replaced by a relationship with them, we are in trouble! If the leave, if they die, if our relationship lessens, our spiritual well-being will drastically plummet.

Joash knew all about God, but he failed to have a relationship with God that was HIS OWN. What about you? When o one else is around, do you talk to the Lord? Do you know Him? Is your relationship real and growing? Don’t be like Joash! I pray that for each one of us, the moving on of our spiritual leaders would create more growth, opportunity, and experience for us… not a spiritual vacuum.