238. Lord will be Found
2 Chronicles 15:2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you, but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Azariah was a prophet who confronted King Asa after battle with a word from the Lord. He gave Asa three conditional prophecies: If you will be with the Lord, the Lord will be with you; if you seek the Lord, He will be found; and conversely, if you forsake the Lord, He will forsake you. The promise that the Lord will be with you is a common and familiar promise. The warning that the Lord will forsake you if you forsake Him is also a common prophetic word. The other conditional promise is not as common and a little unusual: it is more than “seek and you will find,” but it is “seek the Lord and you will find the Lord.” In truth, we don’t “find” the Lord; He finds us, but if we don’t seek, we won’t know when we are found. The condition says to look for something specific. In this case, it is the Lord Himself, which is a little different than seeking specific answers to prayer. God wants a relationship with us, even intimacy.
“Seek” means more than “look for.” It means believing God. It is to fear, love and trust in God above all things. We believe that God is good, that He has my desires and interests in His mind, that He wants His will to be done in my life for my good, and that He is powerful enough to get His will done and do the good. The focus is on developing a loving relationship with a loving God, giving and getting what each wants. And what does God want? He wants you, all of your devotion and attention, indeed, every waking moment. This is seeking the Lord.
Take this promise to heart: He will be found by you. Believe that seeking the Lord will be rewarded. Seeking the Lord implies getting to know Him, His thoughts and His ways (although His thoughts are not our thoughts). Knowing Him is loving Him, for we find in Him only love and grace, goodness and kindness. Loving Him is talking with Him and desiring His happiness. We are happy when He is happy with us. The search is worthwhile: you will find Him. Of course, you won’t find Him is you are looking for a false god, a Santa Claus god, or a god to fit your own lust and greed. One often finds what he is looking for. The world has plenty of these gods to offer. But we seek the Lord, and we will find Him.