“You will seek ME and find ME, when you seek ME with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
Finding God. Seeking God. Searching…Looking for Him. Our worship songs, Bible studies, sermons, Book titles, small group discussions, conversations, and prayers are filled with these phrases and similar others.
These phrases and words are appropriate for use in relation to God; you’ll find them scattered throughout Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments. However, at times when I hear these words used, questions come to mind.
Questions like: Where do you think God is? Do you think God is lost or hiding and needs to be found? Do you think that God is playing some kind of celestial cat-and-mouse or hide-and-seek game with us? Do you think God doesn’t want to be found or can’t be bothered?
So, I wonder what’s behind many of the “seeking-searching-looking-finding” statements. Are these words clouded by misconceptions and misunderstandings about God?
Where is God?
God is not hard to find. HE is not lost out there somewhere, hoping that someone will find Him and lead Him home.
GOD is omnipresent – HE is everywhere. There is NO PLACE where GOD IS NOT.
“’Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.’” Jeremiah 23:23-24
“Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, YOU are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, YOU are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139:7-10
(see also 1 Kings 8:27, Isaiah 66:1-2, Acts 7:48-50)
If God is everywhere, why is HE difficult to find?
Some would go so far as to say that at times it’s impossible to find Him.
Scripture tells us the condition of our heart and soul is key to our success when we are seeking after Him.
“. . . you will seek the LORD your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29
“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. … And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul.” 2 Chronicles 15:2, 12
(see also Deuteronomy 6:5, Psalm 119:2,10)
What do you want from God when you “find” HIM?
Why do you want to find Him? The state of your heart and your motives for seeking HIM may hinder you from finding HIM.
Is God your fall back – “When all else has failed, ask God?” Do you see God as your “fixer”? You’ve gotten yourself in a mess and you’re looking for Him to fix your situation, take away your pain, solve your problems, make your life better so that you can go on your merry way living life as you deem best?
Or are you humbly, ardently seeking God in your time of need, as you do in your time of plenty, knowing that He is your Father who will forgive, restore, provide, guide, comfort, walk with you through the dark valleys of life, and so much more.
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1
Like the Psalmist, we are to seek out God because our soul craves to be in HIS presence, to know Him better, because we recognize HE is our ultimate good, there is NO ONE and NO THING better for us than HIM.
We are not to seek God for what HE can do for us or give to us, we are to seek Him for Him and Him alone. HE is to be our heart’s deepest desire and strongest longing.
It’s helpful to understand that the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated in Scripture “search, seek, and to find” carry both an actual (physical) meaning and an abstract meaning. The actual or physical meaning is that of searching or looking for an actual person, place, or thing with the goal of locating or finding it.
The abstract meaning is the one to focus on: to intensively inquire about, to crave, desire, enquire, find out by thinking-meditating-reasoning, desire, investigate, scrutinize, beg, or clamor for.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
God is where HE has always been and HE reveals Himself to us in His creation, in His Holy Word, and through His Holy Spirit.
You’ll never read in Scripture that God is lost. No parable or story talks about the sheep searching for the lost shepherd. God calls us, HE seeks us, HE comes after us, and HE stands with arms wide open waiting for us to come to Him with hearts of repentance, faith, trust, obedience, and humility. When we seek Him it is to draw closer to Him and to know Him better.
“Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.”
1 Chronicles 22:19
Be sure to check out next week’s blog post – we’ll be talking more on this subject of “Finding God”