Seeking God has been a theme in several conversations I have had this week. A student shared that her parents, in the midst of a difficult time, are seeking to learn more about the God she serves. Another student told me she returned to school determined to seek God in hopes of establishing a relationship with Him.
The good news is God is not hard to find if you are seeking Him. Like the parent playing hide and seek with his kids, God wants to be found. He makes that clear in this verse and in other passages of Scripture.
Sometimes we who have found God are overanxious to point out where He is to others who are not seeking to find Him. And they look at us as if we, to put it kindly, are a bit on the weird side. The thing we need to realize is if they are not seeking God, they will not find Him, no matter how hard we try to point Him out. No, the seeking needs to come first.
And what I have found is that seeking begins with either curiosity or desperation. People begin seeking when they become curious about what they see in those who follow the Lord. Like parents who see a radical transformation in their son or daughter become curious about what is taking place. Or friends who notice a significant change in one of their peers are curious as to what has happened. People also seek when their life circumstances become desperate. A tragedy, perhaps, or a break-up of a relationship, or just when life becomes so dissatisfying that they are open to a change.
The key is in the seeking. And when people seek the Lord, they will find Him. But we make a mistake to rush that process for any person. Rather, it is better to live our lives for the Lord in their midst knowing that God is at work because, in reality, He is already seeking them (Luke 19:10). And when they are ready to seek, we can be there to assure them that what they are seeking they will find—in Jesus.
© Jim Musser 2015
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