~ By Evangelist John BJ Hall ~
When my granddaughter was small, she loved to play hide and seek. Most of all she loved to be found. She would almost always hide in the same spot, in her bedroom behind the curtains.
I always made a big show out of looking for her. “Is she hiding under the bed?” She would giggle. “Nope not there, maybe she is in the dresser drawer.” Again she would giggle. “Maybe she is hiding in the closet.”
Just about the time I opened the closet door, out she would jump from behind the bedroom curtains and say, “Here I am, you found me.”
She just couldn’t wait any longer. She wanted me to find her.
That is the way God is. He want’s so much for us to find him. He leaves clues in nature. He leaves clues in the lives of those around us.
"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (Isaiah 55:6KJV)
All the while that we are looking in the dark corners of our lives, He is saying, “Please find me.” “I want you to find me.” “I sent My Son to point the way.” “I send preachers and teachers and evangelists and friends to point the way.” Please find me.
Seek in the Hebrew means -- to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require, to seek with demand.
This passage tells us that there is an Urgency of Seeking. It has been said that Every human mind is a great slumbering power until awakened by a keen desire and by definite resolution to do. (Edgar F. Roberts). The urgency of the matter is that He will not always be able to be found. We MUST seek Him now, while He may be found. To be found means to encounter, to light upon and discover. God wants us to encounter Him, to discover His nature and His love. Acts 17:27-28 says, “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (KJV)
There is A danger in NOT seeking Him. James Allen said, “You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.” If your desire and aspiration is less than God, then you will find less than He wants you to find. 1 Chronicles 28:9 tells us, “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. (KJV)
If thou seek him, he will be found by you. Remember Jessie and her hide and seek game? She was so anxious to be found. So much so that if you took too long look for her she would jump out and help you find her.
In the 1 Chronicles passage forsake means to neglect. If we neglect Him it results in being cast the off or to be forcefully rejected. It was Jesus himself that dictated the letter to the church at Laodicea that is found in Revelation chapter three. In that letter he said, “ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue (sic) thee out of my mouth. (KJV)
However, there is blessing in seeking after the Lord. The first blessing it that You will find Him. Deuteronomy 4:29 “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (KJV)
You will also possess the things He has promised you.1 Chronicles 28:8 “Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. (KJV) He has promised that we will be saved and grow in Him when we seek Him.
He has also promised that He will build His house if we seek Him. 1 Chronicles 22:19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD. (KJV) The church will be built up and strengthened when we turn to Him and seek him.
But here is the tragic truth: Romans 3:10-11 (KJV) “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” As a result, we miss the blessings that come when we finding Him.
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12 KJV)
The Pursuit
We must find Him, they had said.
Unless we find Him, fear and dread.
We need the hope finding will give.
To give us joy each day we live.
Pursuing is the life for me.
For in pursuit I am set free.
My life more full than I had known
For in pursuit His love was shown.
Now this the truth I do believe
Pursue the Lord and to Him cleave.
Your life will be filled up with joy
And with His love all fear destroy.
Will you begin to seek His face?
To trust His as you run the race?
Each day He will, your hope renew.
And you can live a life that’s true.
© Copyright 2017 By Passages Ministries. All rights reserved.
For permission to use this poem contact Passages Ministries.