"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." 2 Chronicles 15:2b
"I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me." Psalm 16:8 (NLT)
Here's a crazy question . . .
How do these two verses belong in the same Bible?
The simple answer, I believe, is because they are both true. If I am seeking God, He will be found. James 4:8 makes that pretty clear, "Draw near to me and I'll draw near to you."
But, there is a flip side to that verse. God is not pushy, He is God, and He will honor our choices, no matter how bad the consequences will be for us later on down the road. If we desire freedom from God, He will step aside. If we want to live a life of practical atheism, and trust me there are a lot of Christians who fall into this camp as well, then we can't pray fire-escape prayers and expect God to quickly respond. If we're not reading our Bibles, and we're not sharing the Good News, and we're not spending consistent time with Him in prayer and reflection He will remove Himself from our presence. God's closeness to you and me is always a direct relation to our daily choices about Him.
Always.
The Good News, if we sincerely want to find God, He will be there. It's in the Bible, He made a promise, and He cannot lie.
