Seeking

  
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Sometimes I’ve half heartedly said that I was seeking the Lord, but I didn’t really know what that meant. I suppose maybe I figured that I was just waiting to see what happened. No real pursuit was taking place for the Lord, just a mundane continuation of doing what I figured was right. I figured just following that plan would surely make me eligible to be blessed with what I desired. 

There are times in life where God brings us to a hard place, where we are brought low so that we seek Him. I used to believe that any time someone experienced severe hardship that it must have been God’s judgement for a past sin. I ignored the scripture that says it rains on the just and the unjust, that the wicked and the righteous alike will see pain and suffering. That’s simply a result of the fallen world we live in. (Yes, there is scriptural chastisement of the Lord for His children who repeatedly disobey, but that’s another topic for another day.)

Oh my word, I’ve turned into Job’s friends. 

You remember that story, one of the most tragic accounts recorded in the Bible. Job loses everything in spite of being a man who the Bible said eschewed evil and pleased God. He did everything right and yet his life went all wrong. His nitwit friends came along, perhaps even well meaning, and speculated to some kind of sin in Job’s past being the reason for his great loss, tragedy, and suffering. We even cast a judgemental eye on his wife for telling him to curse God and die, though many of us have never been in her shoes. 

How arrogant we are to think that if we check everything off of the list, we will somehow escape pain in this present life. I’m sorry. That’s not Bible. 

God tells us that if we accept Him as our Savior, we have eternity in Heaven. We are also given new lives, liberty in Christ. He promises to never leave nor forsake us. The Bible says His children do not go hungry. We are blessed immensely with a multitude of promises, the greatest being our place of eternal rest. However, God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We may think we know how He ought to take care of us or envision how He should deliver us from trouble, but His Word simply says He will. It never says how. That’s up to Him through His magnificent plan.

It never says we are free of pain or suffering. It does not preach the false prosperity gospel that if you do A, B, and C, you will be free from trouble. I’ve witnessed some who’ve done right and beyond, only to find their lives completely torn apart by tragedy and trouble. We are arrogant to think that God has favorites just because we do better than the next guy. 

So, why? Why do we sometimes hit this wall in our Christian life? Why do our lives get turned upside down, leaving us to question the very things we have followed and submitted to for years? 

I don’t have any real wisdom here. I’m right along with the rest of you. I’ve been blind sided by life before and had no clue what to do or to think anymore. The only thing I can say is: seek Him.

God wants us to seek Him. Sometimes that means leading us to be in a place where there is nowhere to look but to Him. It feels lonely and depending on the severity of your situation, it may nearly tear you into pieces. Yet if we come to Him, humbly asking for help in a time of great need, He will help us. The Bible says He gives answers liberally. His Word is an endless source of wisdom and guidance. We have to put the foot work on the search. We have to seek Him. 

I’ve looked to preachers, I’ve looked to other saints who appeared to have it all together, I’ve looked to my own confidence in my abilities. And the first two certainly have their place as a much needed tool to help us grow and learn. However, in our quest to seek the Lord’s face, there is absolutely no replacement for Him and His Word. If we have His Spirit, He can help us discern truth. 

So much of God’s Word is unfortunately condensed to just a few messages when there is so much to learn, so much to be applied to our hearts and lives. It is inexhaustible. Don’t take for granted the fact that you have an individual priesthood with the Father, that you can come to Him on your own and seek help. If you are saved, He is YOUR God.

With all of that said, the time of trouble is not the time to walk away. We may get angry with God, but He isn’t the One to blame. He is the One to run to. His Word,  His standards, and His Truth have not changed and will prove themselves true through your search. Make sure you’re in a true Bible believing church, surrounded by the counsel of other believers, and that you are seeking the Lord. Do this even if all you can do is sit still and hear what He has to say because you don’t know what move to make or even what to think. Don’t stop pursuing Him.

Jesus Wept

 

 Jesus wept. John 11:35

The shortest verse in the Bible. The first memory verse my oldest ever learned. And perhaps though it’s short, it holds such dear value. 

Lazarus had just passed away and Jesus came on the scene. Everyone was distraught; their loved one was gone. What if Jesus had gotten here sooner? 

We know that Jesus was 100 percent God in man’s flesh, thus making Him fully aware that He would raise Lazarus. I suppose He could have thought, look what Ima do yall. He could have rebuked all of Lazarus’ loved ones for not having faith in what He could do. However, we don’t see that in scripture. Instead, we see this simple description of His heartfelt reaction: Jesus wept.

Why? Why would He cry when He knew that Lazarus would live again?

It’s simple. He saw the pain, grief, and sorrow in the faces of those He loved. He knew it better than anyone else because He is God. He wept with compassion, empathy, and heartache for His loved ones. 

This event that occurred in the Bible reminds us that our God is a very personal God. He isn’t just some far away fella who hears our prayers and checks yes or no when our requests are brought to His desk. No, when we got saved, He took up residence in our heart. He walks right alongside of us. He feels our pain, He hears our heart when we cry out to Him. 

Early this morning, my sweet Nanny passed from this life to the next. As I received the news, I noticed that it was raining outside. You hear people say that Heaven is crying when it rains, but we know that Christ wipes away our tears in Heaven. There are no more tears there. However, the rain did remind me of this verse. It reminded me that as I’m feeling grief and loss, as tears fall from my eyes, I have a Savior who weeps with me. He has compassion on my heart, He knows what I’m going through. I felt His arms wrap around me with great comfort in knowing that He’s very present in times of trouble and sadness. 

Grief can be a lonely place, but if you’re a saved believer in Christ, you can be assured that you aren’t alone. God desires to comfort you, to wrap you into His arms of grace and give you peace. He wept for Lazarus not because he died, but because He felt the pain of those He loves. He feels that pain for you too. 

Praise the Lord that we aren’t alone! Praise the Lord for His grace, comfort, and compassion on me! ❤️