In Acts 17:26-27 we hear, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.”
The following is a prayer by a torn and frustrated man:
My Lord, my Lord, won’t you come to me,
I’ve been longing for you every day.
Life has brought me pain, each day is just the same,
and I just can’t make it all by myself.
I was raised to always take care of things,
thinking surely I’m in control.
Then the bumps in the road put me on overload,
and I start every day with a frown.
I search and I search, always ending in the lurch,
‘Cause my will is trying to lead the way.
Went from church to church seeking help in my search,
but it’s something that can’t just be given.
And then it began to dawn on me,
I must first surrender to the Lord.
Once I abandoned to him with all my might,
I could see my destination door.
My Lord, my Lord now you’ve come to me,
‘Cause I’m letting you be in charge.
While the pain tries to gain, now your spirit makes it lame,
I seek your will every day of my life.
AMEN. (Anonymous)
Scripture reveals to us many reasons and ways to seek the Lord: John 4:23 tells us: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
And then in Hebrews 11:6 Paul is telling us: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
That which seems so simple and easy in knowing the spiritual life is so hard for us humans to deal with. We just can’t take the “me” out of our lives and turn things over to God.
In Jeremiah 29:13 God tells us again: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” And this is fortified in Deuteronomy 4:29: “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
How simple can it get, but how hard it is to follow as we are reminded of God’s need for our love as stated in Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”