“But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.” 2 Chronicles 15:17
This is an amazing story about Asa, the King of Judah.
The prophet Azariah was directed by the Spirit of God to deliver a message to Asa. He told Asa; ”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.”
Asa responded with obedience to the voice of God and took draconian steps to reform the House of Judah. He dealt with the corruption, worship of false gods and forced the people to return to God or face death.
The point of this story is the high places were not removed from Israel despite the loyalty and zealous action of Asa.
There are two challenges for Christ followers in this story.
If you seek God He will be found but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
It takes sincere dedication and relentless concentration to stay grounded in God.
This requires prayer, meditating on the Word of God and listening for the voice of God. If you relapse from God even for a short time you risk jeopardizing your relationship with Him and inviting chaos in your life.
Secondly, you and I have high places in our lives where we have restricted the presence of God and worship false gods or worldly idols.
The high places diminish the power of Christ in your life and can cause God to reject you.
It is a full time responsibility to walk with God. Jesus loves you!
Merry Christmas!
Hal Hollister Ministry 