Persist in Seeking God

The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”
– 2 Chronicles 15:1-3

Whether you are in a low place struggling in your walk with God or you are riding high on the heels of spiritual victories, the Lord wants us to hear the call afresh to seek Him to the end, as well as the warning of forsaking Him. 

King Asa had already begun his reign in Judah in an exemplary way. His heart was set to seek the Lord and to lead all of Judah to do so as well. Even still, the Lord sent a prophet to encourage King Asa to persist in this way. 

Asa had just returned from a miraculous victory, and even though the king’s heart trusted in God for the battle, it doesn’t take much triumph for the human heart to become proud. None of us is immune from the disease of sin’s deceit. But God is gracious to continuously remind us to seek Him first and wholeheartedly. 

The Father has given us His Holy Spirit in Christ so that we can respond to this message as King Asa did:

As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the LORD. (2 Chronicles 15:8)

It takes courage to make seeking God our priority because we won’t take part in what others take part in or we take time away from ordinary life to pray and read the Scriptures and worship corporately or we speak out for God’s truth in a perverse generation. But Jesus promised that following His ways will lead to division (Matthew 10:34-39; cf. 2 Chronicles 15:16).

But we have no need to worry about anything if we will persevere in seeking God. When He is with us, we can be confident even though an enemy army surrounds us. Nothing is as valuable as nearness to God.

Dear Father, thank You for reminding us always to seek You with our whole hearts. Forgive me for sometimes forgetting the all-surpassing worth of knowing You and letting other loves capture my heart. I give You my full devotion, in Jesus’ name. Amen.