February 16, 2015 HE LET THEM FIND HIM
2 Chronicles 15:4: “But in their distress they turned to the Lord of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.”
We no longer live under the Old Covenant, but in reading the Old Testament, we see the heart of God that He has for His people. It is evident throughout scripture that God is consistently pursuing relationship and fellowship with His people. As we read the scriptures, we often see God using the enemies of His people to cause them to turn to Him and seek Him. Nothing causes God to stop loving His people. If you read chapters fourteen through seventeen of 2 Chronicles, you will see clear examples of how God deals with His people when they turn away from Him and how He deals with them when they turn to Him. In this section of 2 Chronicles we find the story of King Asa-and it is an amazing story. In one chapter Asa has a heart for God and we see him removing the “foreign alters” and we see Him asking God to give him victory in battle. In chapter sixteen, near the end of his life, we read this about King Asa: “..yet, even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa slep with his fathers, having died in the forty first year of His reign.” How can one who knows and experiences the love and goodness of God turn away from God? Before we cast a stone at Asa, let us realize that we too can turn from God; perhaps not in some overt way but in a subtle way in our heart. We are blessed by having a God who pursues us and does not relent. The fact that the creator of the universe desires a relationship with us is a staggering thought. It may be over-simplifying, but you might say that the entire Bible is the account of God pursuing His people. 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 is an amazing verse: “Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” We know that God will not forsake or leave us as Hebrews 13:5 makes very clear. However, it is true that when we are walking in fellowship with God, when our heart is turned to Him, when we are submitted to Him, when we are enjoying Him; we will find that He reciprocates, He responds to us. If we are not “with Him”, in that we are not pursing Him, etc. we will not experience, or will not be aware of His nearness and will not enjoy His presence. It is important for us to know that enjoying the presence of the Lord in our lives personally is not automatic just because we are a Christian. This goes against popular thought, but yes, there are “conditions” to our enjoying God and experiencing His presence. The “condition” is that we turn our heart to the Lord and pursue Him. By using the word “conditions”, I am not referring to a “works” mentality but rather to the priorities of our heart. As we pursue Him and as we read and study the scriptures with a heart to know Him, we will discover our true identity-who we really are-in Christ. Everything changes when our eyes are opened and we come to understand that we are indeed “new creations” and we have a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit. Now we know in the depths of our being that Jesus is our brother and God is our real Father! Now, we are truly free for the first time. Now we enjoy God. Now we overcome in life. Now we are not defeated by the obstacles that are in our path. Our God wants us to find Him-not just for salvation, but for a relationship. He will let us find Him-but we have to do some seeking.
Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.”
Colossians 3:1: “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
2 Chronicles 15:4: “But in their distress they turned to the Lord of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.”
We no longer live under the Old Covenant, but in reading the Old Testament, we see the heart of God that He has for His people. It is evident throughout scripture that God is consistently pursuing relationship and fellowship with His people. As we read the scriptures, we often see God using the enemies of His people to cause them to turn to Him and seek Him. Nothing causes God to stop loving His people. If you read chapters fourteen through seventeen of 2 Chronicles, you will see clear examples of how God deals with His people when they turn away from Him and how He deals with them when they turn to Him. In this section of 2 Chronicles we find the story of King Asa-and it is an amazing story. In one chapter Asa has a heart for God and we see him removing the “foreign alters” and we see Him asking God to give him victory in battle. In chapter sixteen, near the end of his life, we read this about King Asa: “..yet, even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa slep with his fathers, having died in the forty first year of His reign.” How can one who knows and experiences the love and goodness of God turn away from God? Before we cast a stone at Asa, let us realize that we too can turn from God; perhaps not in some overt way but in a subtle way in our heart. We are blessed by having a God who pursues us and does not relent. The fact that the creator of the universe desires a relationship with us is a staggering thought. It may be over-simplifying, but you might say that the entire Bible is the account of God pursuing His people. 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 is an amazing verse: “Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” We know that God will not forsake or leave us as Hebrews 13:5 makes very clear. However, it is true that when we are walking in fellowship with God, when our heart is turned to Him, when we are submitted to Him, when we are enjoying Him; we will find that He reciprocates, He responds to us. If we are not “with Him”, in that we are not pursing Him, etc. we will not experience, or will not be aware of His nearness and will not enjoy His presence. It is important for us to know that enjoying the presence of the Lord in our lives personally is not automatic just because we are a Christian. This goes against popular thought, but yes, there are “conditions” to our enjoying God and experiencing His presence. The “condition” is that we turn our heart to the Lord and pursue Him. By using the word “conditions”, I am not referring to a “works” mentality but rather to the priorities of our heart. As we pursue Him and as we read and study the scriptures with a heart to know Him, we will discover our true identity-who we really are-in Christ. Everything changes when our eyes are opened and we come to understand that we are indeed “new creations” and we have a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit. Now we know in the depths of our being that Jesus is our brother and God is our real Father! Now, we are truly free for the first time. Now we enjoy God. Now we overcome in life. Now we are not defeated by the obstacles that are in our path. Our God wants us to find Him-not just for salvation, but for a relationship. He will let us find Him-but we have to do some seeking.
Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.”
Colossians 3:1: “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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