Together in Christ: 'The Lord Will Stay!' — 2 Chronicles 15:1-2

Friday, July 5, 2024

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Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. "Listen to me, Asa!" he shouted. "Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you."
— 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 NLT

Key Thought

This passage speaks to us on two levels: the national level and the personal level.

On the national level, outside of God's promises to ancient Israel, each nation and its leaders must realize that God's promises to bless them are conditional — and even some of the promises to Israel were conditional. They are dependent upon a nation's willingness to "stay with" God. They must not abandon His righteous character, gracious compassion, faithful love, and justice. The nations should be valuable tools in God's hands for good. However, when those nations depart from Him and practice evil rather than living righteously and do not care for the widow, the fatherless, the poor, and the foreigner among them, God will abandon them. [1]

On a personal level, God's promises in these verses are very reassuring. We are saved by our committed trust in what Jesus did to bring us salvation, not by checking off a list of religious things we have done to make ourselves worthy of salvation. [2] Our faith in Jesus leads us to live godly lives in our present corrupt age, and that faith displays itself in the good things we do. [3] However, our good works are motivated by thanksgiving for being saved, not by trying to earn our salvation. [4] We "stay with" God by standing firm in our faith. [5] We seek God because of our faith, and we are empowered to live for Him with the help and intercession of the Holy Spirit. [6] Our hearts are bolstered by the assurance we have in Christ — that God will never leave us or forsake us. [7] Nothing we face in this life, not the demonic powers in our world and not even death, can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus. [8]

We "stay with Him" because of His goodness and grace as the Holy Spirit empowers us to do His will and draw close to Him as our Abba Father. [9] This means that the promises to us to be able to find God [10] and not be abandoned by God are even greater than they were to Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin!

[1] Deuteronomy 24:17-21, 26:12-13, 27:19; Psalm 68:5-6, 146:5-9; Galatians 2:6-10; James 1:27.
[2] 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Timothy 1:8-10.
[3] Ephesians 2:8-10; James 2:18-26, 1 Timothy 5:8; Galatians 1:3-5; 2 Timothy 4:8.
[4] Ephesians 2:10; 1 Peter 2:1-4.
[5] 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, 16:13; Ephesians 3:14-19; Hebrews 7:22-25; Romans 11:20-22.
[6] Romans 8:13-28; Ephesians 3:14-21.
[7] Hebrews 13:5-6.
[8] Romans 8:32-39.
[9] Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:6-7; Ephesians 3:14-16.
[10] Matthew 7:7-8; Amos 5:4-6.

Today's Prayer

Righteous and loving Father, I seek you. I want Your presence to be real in my life. I want to experience You as Immanuel, God Who is with me and near me. Because of the salvation that You have lavished on me in Jesus, I want to draw near and honor You with righteous character, gracious compassion, and faithful love in my life. Be near to me, O God. Your presence and promises are precious to me. I offer my praise, my life, and my prayer to You, my Abba Father, in the mighty name of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • Psalm 139:1-18
  • Psalm 69:13-18; Hebrews 7:18-25

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Illustration

Illustration of 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 NLT — Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. "Listen to me, Asa!" he shouted. "Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you."

About This Devotional

Together in Christ is a daily devotional that focuses on what Scripture teaches about godly living in relationships.

'Together in Christ' is written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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