Winning at Hide and Seek

“Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's anger.”  Zephaniah 2:3

 

Why would anyone seek the Lord?  I am not being blasphemous; I am sincere in my question.  For anyone to seek the Lord, would they not first have to recognize that there is Someone bigger than them?  Or at least would they not realize that they do not possess all that there is, within themselves?

Thus, a person seeking the Lord is already demonstrating a level of humility as demonstrated in this verse.  Only those humble enough to recognize that they are not their own God or destiny would seek someone higher.  This verse is just chock-full of good advice.  When we seek the Lord, we will not find him unless we do what he commands.  Although God is altogether knowable, he is only known to those to whom he chooses to reveal himself. 

There have been times within my own relationship with the Lord that I have caught him “hiding” from me.  This has occurred during seasons that he was drawing me into a deeper intimacy or relationship with him.  There are times that he will lead us to search harder for him, cause us to wait on him, or allow us to sit with our questions a bit.  This never happens because he has decided he does not want us to know him better.  He wrote his willing concerning that, in blood at Calvary.  He definitely wants us to know him.  But in order to go deeper, we have to move beyond “God is great; God is good” prayers.  We have to move on to truly search for him with a heart open to learning more than we have known in the past.  A heart willing to change when sin is exposed is a heart that will find him.

Some of us want to grab on to the Lord with one hand and cling to our wants with the other.  Some of us want to go after God, but drag our worldly pursuits right along with us.  Seeking the Lord is not done in this fashion.  If we are to seek the Lord, it has to be an all-out single minded pursuit.  I love the Tommy Tenney book “The God Chasers.”  He so beautifully explains how like a loving father playing with a small child, God hides from us so that we will seek him.  All the time though, our loving heavenly Father always has his eye on us whether or not we can see him.

Not sure which end is up?  Seek the Lord, he knows.  Not sure what your future holds?  Seek the Lord, he has a plan.  Want to have a love affair beyond your wildest imagination?  Seek the Lord, he is your Beloved.

Dear Lord, I want to go after you.  I want to find you and I am willing to be changed.  Help me let go of any worldly ties and make you my only pursuit.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri