Day 114, or April 24. God sees through our worst motives. Our thoughts today are from
2 Chronicles 15, verse 4. But in their distress they turned to the LORD the God of Israel,
and sought Him, and He was found by them.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse. There was a time during the divided kingdom
when the revivals in the south attracted the backslidden northerners. Before the Assyrians
scattered the ten tribes of the north, it is very likely that the more faithful people
from all these tribes migrated south to Judah. The only part of the twelve tribes that survived
was the southern part, and yet it dropped its name of Judah and became known as Israel,
which was the name of their patriarchal father after it was changed from Jacob, father of
the twelve tribes. The Gospel of Luke records details of a prophetess called Anna from the
tribe of Asher, so it seems some did hold on to their tribal names, but remained ever
faithful to God.
And today's action step. There are few qualities in people less attractive than selfishness,
and yet it is this attribute that tends to propel us toward God for His free gift of
salvation. I have yet to meet a person who came to Christ because they wanted to please
God. They usually trace their first steps towards repentance down the road of self-preservation.
Yet God welcomes us despite our initial selfish motives. He hasn't changed. In the days of
King Asa the chronicle records the nation's response to the message from the prophet Azariah.
The Bible tells us that they were distressed by what He told them, and they turned to God
and sought Him out. The text goes on to tell us that they found God, but in Hebrew it is
more accurate to say that God let them find Him, which is amazing. So that's how God
treats self-centered people. Remember this when you next come across individuals who
put themselves first in everything and try to be as compassionate with them as God is
with you and me.