Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 15
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 15.2)
Devotional Thought: I love to read t-shirts. Sometimes I wonder, "What would make someone want to wear that on their chest?" But, to each his own. When I was a younger man there was a popular t-shirt slogan that said, "I'm with Stupid" and had an arrow pointing toward the left or right. (I'm glad that Lana, my wife, never wanted one of those!) It was always a letdown when "Stupid" wasn't there. But, then, can you blame him?
You can't be with someone who isn't with you, can you? The prophet Azariah came to King Asa of Judah to remind him of that obvious fact: "The Lord is with you while you are with him." Asa needed to be encouraged to continue the work that he had begun - the work of redirecting the nation toward God. He needed the assurance of God's presence and pleasure.
Azariah assured Asa that any potential deficit in that regard would not be on God's part. God had already made up his mind that he was going to be with Asa as he tried to do the work of the Lord. All Asa needed to do was give himself whole-heartedly to God and to spend time with God. In Asa's military and political responsibilities, there were many other things to seek. Azariah said, "Seek God." There were also many things that said to the king, "Forget this God nonsense." Azariah said, "Forsake God to your own detriment."
Are you in a place right now where you need the assurance of God's presence? Take heart! God has said he will never leave you nor forsake you. His mind is made up. Is yours? He is with you. Are you with him?
Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have promised to be with me to the very end of the age. Help me, by your indwelling Spirit, to be with you body and soul. I love you, Lord! Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 66:8-15
8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
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