Notice that it was the Lord who sent the trouble; it was His judgment on sin and His loving method of causing them to come back to Him. See what it says at the end of verse 6. Does God work like this today? He does! He often sends trouble into a man's life in order that that man , who for many years has only lived for himself, might turn back to the Lord and find Him. The Prodigal had to come to himself before he was ready to come to his father (Luke 15:11-24). Compare Psalm 106, where we see that when these people had been severely chastened they turned to the Lord. The what happened?

5. THEY FOUND THE TRUE GOD.
In verse 4 there are three words which tells us how to find God, or, more correctly, how to be found of Him. We must:

A. TURN from sin and from self. (1Thess. 1:9)
B. SEEK the Lord and His pardon. (Isa. 55:6,7)
C. FIND the true God. (2 Chron. 15:2,4 and 15)

How wonderfully this little bit of ancient history ends - He was found by them! Have you found Him? (Proverbs 8:17)