Read 2 Chronicles 15:1-7

Don’t Give Up!

“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). The prophet Azariah spoke these words to king Asa, and they serve as both a promise and a warning. If you want God to be on your side, you have to be on His! He won’t switch sides to go against His own will; He won’t change the truth for you or anyone else.

The faithful child of God must seek God. That is how He is found! He will not reveal Himself in some extraordinary way when He has already provided His complete revelation for all man today. There was a time when His revelation came “at various times and in various ways,” but that was “in time past to the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). Today, His Word is completely revealed, and we know the standard by which we will be judged at the last day (John 12:48).

Azariah told Asa, “For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law” (2 Chronicles 15:3). The reason Israel did not have these things is because Israel did not want these things. God has always been and will always be there; man must seek Him. The teaching priests were ignored; the law was neglected. Israel forsook God, and thus Israel was forsaken by God.

The southern kingdom of Judah had men who were interested in the things of God, though, and they were spared for a bit longer because of that. Indeed, Azariah said, “But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” (2 Chronicles 15:7). Asa took great courage in this and instituted reforms in Judah that exalted the Almighty.

Still today, in the church, we are given the same encouragement through the pen of Paul. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Just as Asa was rewarded for his strength and courage in God, so too we will be rewarded if we do not lose heart and continue working for His cause!