Seeking God

As I mentioned in my last blog I was recently required to read 10 verses that encourage us to seek God and then describe what it means to seek God.  As I started reading the verses, I realize that God wants us to seek us the same way that we sought Him.  He left everything to look for us, but how are we suppose to look for Him?

As I started looking at the verses, I became amazed by how God teaches us to "seek" Him.  Here are a few of the verses that I found:

• But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.  (Deuteronomy 4:29)
• Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. (1 Chronicles 16:10)
• But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
• Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. (1 Chronicles 16:11)

As you read through the verses, I assume there will be a few words that stick out to you:

With all your heart and soul

First/Primarily

Continually

When I read these verses, I see God asking us to seek Him with energy and gusto.  He wants us to be more interested in seeking Him than anything else, and He wants us to be continually searching for Him.  

I especially like the concept of continually searching, because I think there are two elements to the word "continually" that are important.  The definition that I typically think of is the idea of searching for a long period of time.  Have you ever met an old person who still reads their bible?  Even though they can probably rattle off a 100 bible verses, and have been going to church since the time they can remember, they still wake up every morning and read the bible.  That's someone who seeks continually; until the day they die.  

One of the other definitions of "continually," is the concept of frequency, and this is the definition that I'm learning to appreciate as I grow older.  Have you ever met a person who expects to see God everywhere in everyday life?  If it starts raining and a stranger offers them a ride home, these people are convinced that God sent them an angel. While other people might maintain some skepticism that God had His hand in the situation, these people are convinced it was from God.  They see God as a Father who cares about their needs and is willing to do something about it.  They believe God is frequently (continually) revealing Himself to them.  That's an amazing aspect of the word continually, and I think it's something God wants.

As I mentioned, this is a new way of viewing the term, "continually" in my walk with God.  I think some people are more prone to see unusual coincidences as blessing from God, and others, like me, are not.  Maybe we have a lack of trust, maybe we have been taught to be more "rational" and scientific, maybe we don't think God cares. 

Personally, I've struggled with all these reasons.  I was trained to be more skeptical of "coincidences" because of my science degree in college.  I was also afraid that people would laugh at me if I called random coincides a blessing from God.  I was even scared that if I tried to look for God in everyday life, I would be let down..."why would God waste His time with me?" I thought.

The more I get to know God, though, the more I realize that He does care.  I should seek Him with passion, energy, longevity and frequency, because He loves me and He wants me to know Him more.

As I read through those verses, I was amazed not only by how we should seek after God, but what we should be expecting to find.  So, next time I will talk about what I think we should look for when we seek Him, but first, let's pause and apply this to our own lives.

Christians, thank you for choosing to bring glory to God, and let's keep it up.  First, I encourage you to ask our Father to make "seeking Him" our innermost desire.  Secondly, I encourage you to pause throughout the day and ask God where He is working.  Finally, I encourage you to thank Him for the little blessings He brings.  It might seem weird at first, but it will become a joy to see these little coincidences as His gifts to you.  

Non believers, if you are reading this, then you are seeking.  Why else would you read a blog about God if you didn't have any desire to know Him?  My first challenge for you is to persevere.  Don't give up.  My second challenge is to ask yourself and God this one simple question; "Why don't I trust God to save me?"  And then clarify your answer.  Are you afraid of what God might ask you to do?  Do you feel like you don't deserve God's love?  Is it hard for you to distinguish Jesus from other prophets?  Maybe you think that God owes you something.  Well, what is it?  What do you think He owes you?  Name it, describe it, dig deep.  Send me a message if you have questions or want help, but this is the most important decision of your life, so don't be content with a simple answer.

Finally, this is my prayer for all of us:

God, thank you for revealing yourself to us.  Thank you for the questions and uncomfortable moments that drives us closer to you.  You are a good God who desires us to seek you, so please give us that desire as well.  Father, I'm so grateful that you demonstrated your love through Jesus.  Thank you for your Spirit.  You are good, please help us to experience that even more.