All tagged seeking
Are we praying for God to call us to perform some great task for His kingdom? Do we have a desire to do wonderful things for our Holy Father? Sometimes we take it upon ourselves to determine what that task might be. Brothers and Sisters, let’s stop trying to determine for ourselves how God can best use us, and pray instead that He shows us what He already has prepared for us to do, and that is to spread the gospel.
Are we seeking God? Do we search day and night for Him? Praying? Reading scripture? Well stop for a moment and be still. You don't need to search for Him... He is all around you! When we realize this truth, then all that is left is to get to know Him. To understand and establish a relationship with the almighty, and His Son Jesus.
Are we working out our own salvation, or are we sitting on a church pew on Sunday while depending on someone else to tell us what we must do to save ourselves? What is our role in salvation, and has God been working in us willfully to His good pleasure?
What does it mean to "seek first the kingdom of God?" Some believe this means that we are to seek God totally and that all else will miraculously be provided. Then there are those who feel it means to seek Him first and foremost, but to continue living the life we currently live using His commandments as a guide. Then, there are also those who think it is alright to live without any change whatsoever, and to insert God into the cracks of their existing life as a stop-gap when trouble arises. Which of these are we, or do we seek Him in some other contrived way? How is it that we seek Him?
All of our advances in faith, and a righteous life, follow after our humility, and our desire to obey the Lord. When we pray with pride, or read scripture from a position of arrogant intellect, then there is no answer, and the truth in God’s Word remains hidden from us. In this way our belief in God, and faith in Jesus Christ, are merely outer garments that cover a religion based on our self alone. Until we humble ourselves, and let our love for God replace our desire to interpret scripture as we wish it to be, and stop praying as a form of negotiation, but pray instead in absolute humility, then we are attempting to establish a business arrangement with God, and He has no interest in sharing His sovereignty with us.
Are we childlike in our faith? Do we seek God with our whole heart each day? Do we obey His commandments without doubting, or veering from them? When we feel that we have sinned in some way is our contrition wholehearted, complete, and our desire for forgiveness asked with tears and heartfelt sincerity? God commanded us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but are we prepared to apply this same degree of heart to every aspect of our faith?
We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and as we learn to do this we long to know Him all the more. God’s desire is that in this way we commit ourselves to Him completely. We use our ever increasing love to seek Him out in every aspect of our lives. Our complete love becomes a means of not only worship, but knowing Him, and dedicating ourselves fully to Him, and His will for us. It is by seeking that we come to know the Holy Spirit.
We all go through life searching for something that will define who we are, and that lifts us above whatever station we find ourselves in. Some of us believe that “Thing” to be earthly, or a way of life concocted by men, and some believe it is a secret waiting to be discovered deep within themselves, but in fact there is only one source of truth and enlightenment, one place to turn for righteousness, one way of life that is holy and lifts us up, making us better, and giving us eternal goodness and peace... God... and we are led to Him by just one “Thing”... having faith in Jesus Christ.
Does our Soul thirst for Jesus? Do we love God with a desire that is so strong we feel as though we would die if it were not satisfied? Do we pant for prayer, or long for our need for God to be quenched by immersion in His presence, like the desperate need for water causes desert wanderers to throw themselves into it; gulping mouths full like each might be their last? Can we smell the sweet fragrance of Christ as if we are a desert animal... catching the slightest scent of water from miles away? Does the faint fragrance of Jesus lead us across the parched expanse of life’s deserts as we seek His living water? This is how we should love God, and come to find Jesus.
As we dwell on the Word of the Lord we are made to pause in awe, and with raised hands declare, in tears, His greatness. O the wonder of who He is. O the grandeur of His creation. O how our Souls are thrilled by knowing the least of His thoughts, and our hearts warmed beyond measure by the slightest touch of His hand. Do you search God’s Holy Word for a glimpse of Him? Do you see the creator in all of His creation, and Come to know anything about Him?
His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray as He did, and David sang in prayer that God would teach him His paths. Are we satisfied with the speed at which we are progressing spiritually? Are we inclined to sit patiently waiting for instruction without expressing our desire for more? There is a difference between trusting that the Lord will lead us in understanding, and being indifferent about it. Both David and the disciples wanted more, and they asked for as much... we should ask as well.