9月1日
標 題:若尋求祂
經 節:你們若順從耶和華,耶和華必與你們同在;你們若尋求祂,就必尋見;你們若離棄祂,祂必離棄你們。(歷代志下十五章2節下)
神是否與我們同在,主要決定於我們對神的回應。如果我們全心全意尋求神,我們必尋見祂(耶利米書廿九:13∼14)。主要與我們相交,然而,祂不會強逼我們與祂創建關係。我們不可能一面拒絕與祂相交,一面又期待祂就在附近。祂並不只是整日跟著我們,準備作我們隨時的幫助。如果一直遠離祂,有一天我們會發現自己極度需要祂,而祂卻不在身邊(以賽亞書五十九:1∼2)。
把那至高無上的真神當作僕人,頤指氣使地指示祂,對神是公然的侮辱。神照著祂的主權和要求與我們相交,不是照著我們的要求。神渴望與我們親密同行。如果渴望親近祂,祂的同在會真實地臨及每個渴慕祂的人。如果為罪悔改,並且照著神的定規尋求祂,就能與祂創建親密的關係(雅各書四:8∼10)。我們要不斷地尋求祂,在每個新的早晨,若無神同行的確據就不滿足。
你是否嘴上說要經歷神的同在,但是行為又表現出另一碼事?如果嘴上說要更認識神,卻疏於讀經,你是否真實地尋求祂?你是否時常疏懶於禱告?如果你的行動顯露出你是真誠地尋求神,祂應許你會查找祂的(馬太福音七:7)。
If You
Seek Him
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. (2 Chronicles 15:2)
Our
response to God greatly determines His presence in our lives. If we seek God
with all of our hearts, then we will find Him (Jer. 29:13–14). The Lord wants
to have fellowship with us, but He will not force a relationship upon us. We
cannot reject fellowship with God and expect Him to remain near. He does not
merely follow us throughout our day in case we need His assistance. If we
continue to forsake Him, a time will come when we desperately need Him and He
will not be near (Isa. 59:1–2).
It
is an affront to sovereign God to treat Him like a servant who should wait upon
us. God will relate to us on His terms, not ours. God desires a close walk with
us. He will make His presence real and personal if that is our desire. If we
repent of our sin and seek God on His terms, we can look forward to intimate
fellowship with Him (James 4:8–10). We are to continually seek Him, not content
to enter a new day without the assurance that God is walking beside us.
Do
you say you want to experience God’s presence while your actions reveal
otherwise? If you say you want to know God better but neglect studying His
word, are you truly seeking Him? Have you regularly forsaken the place of
prayer? If your actions reveal that you are genuinely seeking God, then He
promises that you will find Him (Matt. 7:7).