“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” – II Chronicles 16:9a
“Seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” – Isaiah 55:6-7
“Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.” – Jeremiah 5:1
Scripture Reading: II Chronicles 15; Jeremiah 5
It’s true we never know what a day holds. The past week proved that to me, and I never even saw it coming. In the space of just three days, life was good, then life was bad, then life was really bad, then unbelievably bad, and then (by God’s grace) life was great.
There is a place that each of us needs to be, and that place is, as the old hymn says, “near to the heart of God”. And I’ll tell you why. In this fallen world, an endless list of things can shake your world to the core without warning. There are hurts and challenges and unexpected turns that no amount of life experience can prepare you for, and when they hit, I promise that you’ll want your need to be blinking right in the middle of God’s radar.
II Chronicles 15 and Jeremiah 5 both give us a glimpse of God’s radar in action. Both chapters recount a period in the history of the Kingdom of Judah. In II Chronicles 15, we meet Judah’s King Asa, who for 35 years, was on God’s radar for all the right reasons. He was one of those rare kings who tried to pull Judah away from worshipping other gods – even removing his own mother from power because of her idolatry.
But in II Chronicles 16, Asa would make a critical mistake. After decades of peace and blessing from the hand of God, Judah was under threat from the northern tribes of Israel and their new king. Asa’s response is pretty insulting to the God that has prospered him to this point. He puts together a protection payment, consisting of gold and silver from the king’s treasury, as well as (don’t miss this) the House of the Lord. He then gives this payment of protection to the king of Syria. This is a bad idea on so many levels that I can’t even take the time to fully explain it. But you probably don’t need me to.
In II Chronicles 16:9 (see above), God reveals His heart to Asa. God’s eyes are forever searching for hearts that are turned in His direction. They “run to and fro” looking for the faithful, for every-day, ordinary people seeking to do God’s will. God’s desire is to find us seeking Him, in the good times and bad, so that whatever our need, He can show Himself faithful to us.
Fast-forward to Jeremiah 5. The eyes of the Lord are again searching, looking for any sign of repentance, any desire to return to Him, on the part of Judah. Sadly, He finds nothing, and again, Judah is on God’s radar in a bad way. While He wants to pardon, wants to bless, wants to be found, His holy nature is forced to keep His covenant – blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 30:19). Stubborn Judah offers no obedience and no repentance, and Babylon is poised to serve as God’s justice against their rebellion (Psalm 137:1, Jeremiah 20:4).
You and I are on God’s radar today, but whether we’re on it for the right reason or the wrong reason is up to us. When God’s eyes search to and fro, I want Him to find me faithful. I want to and I need to be able to call on Him in the day of trouble, with a pure heart (Psalm 50:15, 86:7,116:2, Matthew 5:8, Hebrews 10:21-23). God is good, and the offer of forgiveness is always on the table. But make no mistake about it – God’s best blessings, God’s greatest deliverance, and His strong arm are extended to those who are reaching up to Him (II Samuel 22:4, Jeremiah 29:13, Zephaniah 3:9, James 4:8). And while salvation is forever, you never want to be on His radar for the wrong reason.
Tribulation will come. Life will sucker-punch you when you least expect it. But there is a Healer, there is a Deliverer, there is a God Who is mighty to save. Set your sights on Him, and you’ll be in His sights when you need it most.
YOUR PRESCRIPTION
Seek God – every day, in every way you can. Don’t let distraction, boredom, bitterness, or pride keep you from getting on His radar for the right reasons. He is searching for the faithful right now. Let Him find you faithful, and you will find Him.
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