“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your hearts.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
I am beginning a study that might end in a book. However, I might not have enough time to complete it with the time I have left. But I am motivated to start. The motivation that moved me to take up this challenging study is this: It is my belief that every person was created by God to know him and enjoy him in all of his righteous, eternal perfections. That conviction is backed up by the Westminster Confession when it asked, “What is the purpose of men? To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” I am signed up for this glorious hunt.
We see the first clue of this awesome purpose in Genesis three, where God comes into the garden in search of Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:8-9) God comes looking for his creatures to share himself with them! As the Bible tragically reports, sin has radically changed everything. Instead of hurrying to meet God to enjoy another moment of his presence, their rebellion against his word has caused fear in them. For the first time of their existence, instead of seeking him they hide from him. Their rebellion has caused within them guilt, emptiness and a lostness that will be passed on through Adam to all the generations.
Consequently, there is an emptiness in every person that results in a restlessness of the soul. Just being is not enough. We seek for purpose and meaning and identity that escapes us in our present condition. In our modern world we see the extremes people will go in search of fulfillment. It has become extreme beyond our imaginations as our country lost its sense of the sacred and have swallowed the lies of secularism. Everybody is seeking but few are finding. Frustration dominates the life of our nation. Disappointment, despair and death are the tragic results of such a Godless void.
Augustine diagnosed our condition many years ago: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in Thee.” We were made to have a personal relationship with our Creator. Psalm 63 captures this truth: “O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you.” (Psalm 63:1-3)
So, my premise is this: We were made to seek God and find our joy in Him. Listen how David gives expression to this in Psalm 119. “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless who walk according to God’s law; they do nothing wrong; they seek him with all their heart.” (119:1-2) “I seek you with all my heart. Do not let me stray from your commands.” (119:10) “I have sought you with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.” (119:58) Add to this the awesome promise God made to his rebellious people Israel: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) Moses most clearly captured this passion when he asked the Lord: “Now show me your glory.” (Exodus 33:18)
Here we see that Moses was seeking a visible revelation of the beauty of God in a physical manifestation. Later, the Lord gives us more information as to what Moses was seeking: “You cannot see my face, for no one can see my face and live.” (Ex. 33:20) Seeing the glory of God in the face of Christ is the ultimate quest of every born-again believer. (2 Cor. 4:6) We may communicate by a picture or letter or phone, but none of those media can take the place of communing with the face of the one we seek. We not only hear the voice and see the image, we seek communion of the face because it conveys more than mere words, but the personal and intimate expression of the soul of the person. That is what we seek along with Moses. We want all there is of the Lord expressed in seeing him face to face. We not only want his words. We want Him!
In this life we will be denied the fullness of that joy. But, the Lord has invited us to seek him and find him in ever increasing fellowship with his soul-satisfying revelation of his glory. “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 28-30)
So, here are the questions I want to address in my study. What exactly are we seeking? How do we get there? What will we find when we do get there? Is there one place he will be found? What are the helps and the hinderances to getting to our goal? I will try and share what I am finding in the days ahead. I hope that you will join me in this hunt. I think it can be a life changing hunt. Let’s go!
“Without often seeking God, the vitality of the soul is lost. We may as well expect a harvest without sowing, as any liveliness of grace where there is no seeking God.” -Thomas Manton