2 Chronicles 15:2 “…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.”
When you read v1 and 2 of this chapter, you see that King Asa and the kingdom of Judah has just won a significant victory over a mighty army. It would seem that they had a permanent claim to God’s favour and blessing. Instead, speaking through the prophet Azariah, God wanted Asa to know the importance of abiding in the Lord.
I believe we also can learn a lot from this passage. Sometimes we can get so comfortable in our Christian living, that slowly but surely we lose our dependence on Jesus Christ due to lack of relationship with Him. We are not spending time in prayer, reading the word, or fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. Life may seem comfortable, and things are going well for you. But there is a stern warning given in this passage. Let us look at the three conditions given to us.
Firstly, the LORD is with you while you are with Him. The question to ask yourself at this point is: are you with the Lord? Yes, you may have received salvation and believe in the name of Jesus Christ, but are you walking with the Lord? Are you with Him? When the Bible speaks about walking, it often refers to a lifestyle. You can walk according to the ways of the world (in the flesh), or you can walk in the Spirit. When you walk with someone, the person you are walking with requires your full attention. Providing your full attention means excluding other things and focussing your attention on the person you are walking beside. Likewise walking with the Lord implies you need to eliminate certain parts from your life, such as worldly habits, sins, and unhealthy relationships and instead spend time with the Lord, through prayer and reading the word and doing those things that bring Glory to His matchless name.
Secondly, if you seek Him, He will be found by you. How are you seeking Christ? Seeking means you need to commit yourself to worship the Lord. True worship “will” cost you time or money and may sometimes be inconvenient to your daily schedule. Seeking Him means to protect yourself against the powers of this world so that you may glorify God. You need to put on the armour of God at all times. Ultimately it comes down to obeying His word, trusting in the Lord for every aspect of your life, worshipping His Holy Name and separating yourself from evil. When you do these things, He will be there in your midst and His power made available to help you in your “walk” with Him.
Thirdly and finally, If you forsake Him, He will forsake you. What does forsaking the Lord look like? I believe we can find the answer in the first two conditions. If you are not “with” the Lord, nor walking with Him, nor seeking Him in all your ways, then the result is that you are forsaking God. It is as simple as that.
That is why James 4:8 says “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
When you forsake the Lord, then you will come under His discipline. God disciplines because of His love for us. He doesn’t want to harm us, but He will do whatever it takes to correct us. For the moment, it may seem painful, but the result will be the peaceful fruit of righteousness. And it is by this we know that we are sons and daughters of the living God, our Heavenly Father. Amen!
In closing, I urge you to enjoy the freely available presence of God being entirely dependant on him, not forsaking to be with Him, to seek him and walk with Him. In the words of Moses in Exodus 33:15 says “if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Allow Christ to be the treasure of your life, and by doing so, enjoy the fullness of His grace, mercy, blessing and provision. There is nothing greater than this.
God bless.
