The question “What are you looking for?” comes up every day in our lives. Whether we have lost something and can’t find it, are seeking a new job or seeking some pleasure, we find ourselves living in this realm.
Quite often, I realize that even sometimes I can’t find what I have stored in safe places due to my forgetfulness of where I stored it. That places me in awkward moments. Frustration seems to be ubiquitous daily.
Maybe you’re like me and are having trouble finding the things you need when they’re needed the most. We seem to complicate life when the world seems troubled enough on its own. One thing we all need to look for is the pathway to salvation.
We’re living in a fast-paced lifestyle, and what brings me peace and stability of mind is knowing I have a relationship with God. If I prioritize him first in my thoughts and utilize time with him daily, there’s an assurance that accompanies me wherever my road may take me. That’s what I must be looking for every day or I’m sure to find the ways much more difficult.
Lots of people are missing the best moments in life when they’re only seeking what they desire most. People look for happiness in all sorts of places: more-pleasing relationships, more income, more adventures, more popularity, more excitement and just plain, old more-common fun. Did you notice the word “more” attached to each desire? Also, have you noticed that each of these common desires is only fleeting and temporary, always leaving one with the quest for something new? That cycle is very unfulfilling, to say the least, as it focuses only on the finite and not the infinite.
So what are you looking for every day? Have you taken time to look for God or is it a common practice in your life? What precipitated my own quest for God was a crisis time that happened to me many years ago. No need for details (we all have) for it’s understandable that there will never be a time when we don’t have crises. God uses these times to draw us to him and it’s forever easy to see that, in retrospect, we just want help in our time of crisis.
The next time you’re facing a crisis, begin to look for God. The best way is to open up a Bible and ask God to reveal himself to you. He promises to let you know him if you will seek him with all your heart. That means all your heart. You won’t seek him if you are in denial of his existence.
In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah 29:11-13 it says: “He has thoughts toward you, thoughts for good and not evil, when you pray to Him He will listen to you.” In Verse 13 it says “and you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
The New Testament reports that God came and took on flesh and became a man (John 1). His name is Jesus. He is the living word of life to all who will seek him. It’s not hard to find God, but with our human nature, it’s the hardest thing to do. Wherever you find yourself today, begin the quest for God. When you find the Lord you will realize that he’s already found you and has been seeking you all the time.
Dwight Millsaps is pastor at God’s Gathering Place in Hixson.