“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 15:26
These are prophetic words spoken by Azariah to King Asa and the people. They were meant to encourage the people to continue seeking the Lord who is faithful to reveal Himself to those who seek Him. However, there is also the warning that if they should stop seeking the Lord He would forsake them.
God does not forsake people out of a heart that stops loving, but from a heart that continues to love. To forsake means to loosen, relinquish, or permit. In other words, God lets us go our way. When God forsakes us He leaves us to our own folly and we suffer the circumstances of our poor choice to leave God out of our lives. He will not force us to follow Him. Yet, the forsaking is with purpose—in hope His people might return to Him when they subsequently find themselves in trouble. If God ignores their failure to seek Him and just keeps on blessing nonetheless what motivation is there for change? It is not that God ever stops loving His people, but He will release us if we insist on leaving Him out of our lives.
James 4:8 tells us: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” There is reciprocal movement on the part of God. The reverse is also possible as seen in this passage. If we draw away from God He will draw away from us. When Scripture says: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrew 13:5) it is reference to those who are faithfully trusting God. When leaders fail to seek God they do so out of a heart of pride that says: “I don’t need God, I will do this on my own.” The Scripture tells us that “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6). The word “resist” means to oppose. With this verse we see that not only might there be a forsaking on God’s part, but active resisting, a pushing out. Yet God’s redemptive heart is still actively working for us in hopes that we might come to our senses.
As leaders we must always keep the Lord before us, seeking Him faithfully. How faithfully are you seeking Him? What might you do to draw nearer to God?
