Strengthen Day 1 - Sunday - February 27, 2022
Earnestly Seeking
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My Soul thirsts for you; My Flesh longs for you In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. Psalm 63:1
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:29-31
What does it mean to “earnestly” seek God? It means to seek Him with sincere and intense conviction, to seek Him with seriousness. I like to think of it as seeking him with all my heart. But that seems easier said than done, doesn’t it? Let’s face it, we live in a world where our beliefs as Christians go against the beliefs of the world; it can feel like a dry and parched land!
Have you ever been in a time of your life where you know nothing else except a move of God will meet your need? You know in that moment that nothing but the Lord will quench your thirst, nothing will satisfy your hunger. You know that there is nothing that “you” can do. This is desperation! What do we tend to do when we are struggling or desperate? We panic, we worry, we think about the what-ifs right? We even go straight to calling our girlfriends, guy friends, or calling up a prayer chain. Those things are great, but isn’t it true that many times our minds tend to fill up with fears of the unknown? We are creating and allowing toxic thoughts to run wild and most of the time we aren’t even fully aware of it. But, what if we ran to God first, ran to prayer, sought His face, and got down on our knees? What if that was our first response?
Maybe you are in a season of life where you cannot possibly see how things could get better. Maybe your marriage is crumbling; Maybe your child has walked away from God; Does it feel like there is more month than there is money? For the man it may feel like all he does is work. For the woman, how will she ever keep her home clean? The list goes on!
Guess what? When we seek God earnestly, we can be sure to find Him. God doesn’t promise to deliver on our prayers in the way or timing that we desire; but He does promise to never leave us or abandon us. He made a promise to bless those who bless Him, He said that when we seek Him, we will find Him.
If we want to be people who know God, we must start with seeking Him first. So, what does that look like? For me it’s getting on my knees beside my bed. That’s where He once answered me in the time that I needed Him most; in fact, that specific answer to prayer gave me more confidence to continue seeking Him time and time again. I think it’s easy to freeze in our sorrows, to not know how to seek God. I encourage you to get on your knees before the Lord, in a quiet place and tell Him everything you fear. Ask Him to give you peace, and then believe that He will meet all your needs in His perfect timing. Believe that He will quench your thirst, satisfy your hunger and be all that you need. Remember, have faith in the waiting, we don’t always see Him move right away. However, be hopeful in the waiting because when you wait on Him and see Him move, you will be more confident in returning to Him in your distress over and over again!
Reflection: How should I seek the Holy Spirit during the next 21 days so that I’m prepared to hear from Him?