Seek & Surrender

I grew up following the rules. I was taught the difference between right and wrong. I definitely “pushed the envelope” and made bad choices at times. I look back now and I have regrets with some of my choices. I heard a great truth last week – “Disobedience is simply unbelief”. (Thanks Shannon Lovelady.)  I was warned and instructed as a kid about touching the hot stove, but I guess I didn’t “believe” my parents and touched in anyway. I was warned and instructed about a lot of things, that I ended up disobeying and trying anyway, only to find out that I was told the truth to begin with. When I look back on this behavior in my past, and even today in my present, it reinforces that my pride leads me to disobedience and erodes my faith.

The people of Judah & Benjamin (aka The Southern Kingdom) started to do things a bit differently under the leadership of King Asa. They went all in. Check this out…

1 The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. (2 Chronicles 15:1-4 NIV)

I also read that people from the other tribes were coming to Judah because they saw what God was doing and they wanted to be in on it.

I think that there is a really simple truth in this passage. God is not far away and elusive. He is nearby and accessible. There have been times in my life when the Lord has seemed miles away, but it was times I was “hell bent” on doing things my way instead of His way.

When Jesus came, He ushered in grace. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He gives us immediate access to God. During the time of Asa, they could seek God, but it was through the high priest and through sacrifices of animals. Jesus was the final sacrifice needed for sin. He took my sin to the cross and I can now seek the Lord as a cleaned up person. I can go directly to the Lord with anything and everything. I don’t have to wait until I can get to the temple, because the Lord dwells inside me – my heart is a temple of God.

I don’t ever want to get so busy that I don’t take time to surrender my plans and my activities to the Lord. I want to make sure that my actions and my plans are connected with His call upon my life. I don’t want to get so caught up in work that I don’t seek Him first. I don’t want to get so busy and successful that I don’t have time to sit at His feet and seek His heart.

Pressing On!

Dwayne