I want more than what I have and where I am. I want to be great and be revered and not have to be concerned with anything. This is a common thought and theme I am sure in the world today. It is natural to have these feelings of want and desire. The issue with it is that it will get in the way of what is most important, our relationship with God.

This morning I am reading and studying in 1 Corinthians where Paul is writing about being unmarried and/or widowed. He is referring to the pressure that comes with each of the statuses and how that pressure impacts us and our relationship with God.

“²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife.” – 1 Corinthians 7:27 (ESV)

There is of course a lot more to the passage and I do not want to confuse anyone in thinking that I am cherry picking a verse to point out what I wish to say. What I see in this verse and the whole passage (vv.25-40) is that I am to be content in where I am in my relationships. I am not to be worried with where I am going or where I am from. I am to be in the moment with Christ and Christ alone. I should not be seeking something that will only cause me to be concerned with anything other than the LORD.

Now, as Paul mentions in the passage, there is nothing wrong with marriage, and if that is where your heart is, then it should be. What he is cautioning is the seeking out of marriage to establish some lifestyle or satisfy some want or need. There should be a sense of obligation to God first and all else lower down the priority list. Our contentment with our relationships outside of that with God should be paramount. We should seek God and not the satisfaction of our worldly desires.

Where are you in your relationships here in this world? Are you more concerned with those than with your relationship with God? What if we were simply to seek contentment in our worldly position and devote to God?

We all have the same opportunity to find salvation. Yes all of us regardless of where we come from, our circumstances, our backgrounds, our experiences, or any other thing that might be considered divisive. Salvation is not just available for the chosen few.

“²⁰Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’ ²¹But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.’” – Romans 10:20-21 (ESV)

The above verses are notable in the declaration that all who seek shall find. The gentiles are referred to in verse 20 and are found by God when they were seeking Him. They were not the chosen nation of God, that was those referenced in verse 21, Israel. The Gentiles heard the gospel and believed. They were given the opportunity and they seized it knowing good when it was presented to them. Israel had a feeling of entitlement and rebelled against God all the way. Whereas they were disobedient, God still held His arms open wide to receive them when they came.

This is the same today. We are all given opportunity to come to God and be saved. Those that are furthest away are those that come when they hear. Those of us that “know” are those that disobey. All though are accepted and given the same opportunity when we are seeking out God and His glory.

As a follower of Christ, there is a sense of entitlement I feel each day. I make it to church on Sundays and somehow believe that I am more deserving of God’s love. I don’t have to worry about seeking Him out as I have already found Him (a long time ago) and He will always be with me regardless of my seeking of Him. It is the other people that “need” to seek Him out to be saved.

The reality is that we are all in the position to seek God out. Yes as someone that has received salvation already, my need of salvation has been met, but my need for grace is still there. I must seek Him out each day to continue doing His will. For those that have not found Him, there is a seeking for the immediate need of salvation and then the continue need of grace. We are all in need to seeking Him out and when we do, we will be found and will find God and the grace He has for us.

What does your search for God look like each day? Are you seeking Him always? What if we all, regardless of anything, were to seek Him out for the salvation and grace God has for us?

“¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10 (ESV)

What a simple verse that is so powerful. Jesus is looking for each one of us. But not just looking haphazardly, He is seeking us earnestly. Take the story of Zacchaeus the chief tax collector (Luke 19:1-10). A man earnestly seeking Jesus as demonstrated by his willingness to climb a tree to be able to see Him. Zacchaeus was not going to let his stature or anything stand in his way of seeing Jesus. And Jesus, seeking out to save the lost, found Zacchaeus and called him by name to join Him and offer His salvation personally.

This is such a great illustration that Jesus is truly seeking, seeing, and saving for all of us. When we are seeking Him, we will find that He was seeking us at the same time. We will find each other and as a result, we will be saved and Jesus will be glorified.

I have been and will always be a sinner. I will continue to sin and as such will always and forever be seeking forgiveness as I repent. Jesus has and will forgive me for I have been found and am not lost any longer. He was seeking me and when I was seeking Him we found each other and at that moment I was saved.

When in the world, what seeking are you doing to find Jesus? Are you willing to climb some trees to find Him and allow Him to find you? What if we were to embrace our lost status and allow Jesus to find us and save us?

Seeking is that continued earnest looking. The search is not complete until that which searching for is found. It is the not giving up.

“⁷Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7 (ESV)

As I have mentioned a number of times, I am a corporate training professional and one of the concepts that I lean on in my training classes is that we have to ask if you want to get an answer. I may have the resources that I need to do the job or task, but I also may not be able to find the answer on my own. In those instances I must ask for the answer in the moment and also be sure to ask where the answer is found to know for next time, in case there is a change. In sales, I may give the best presentation but I also must ask for the sale in order to get it.

In our search for God, it is up to us to continue the search until found. There are times when we do not know where else to look and in those instances it is our responsibility to ask others and knock on doors to gather more information to find Him.

We will find God when we truly search. But the search is not over once we initially find Him. We must continue the search as God will continue to have more tasks for us in the world. In order to know what those tasks are, we have to ask and knock for Him to open the doors. And then when God gives us the task, we must continue asking and knocking and seeking the path to completing the task. And then the cycle begins again. We are here for His glory and we to not give up seeking Him and His glory.

When you are searching for God, are you asking and knocking once you seem to reach the end? Are you determined to find Him or the next task He has for you? What if we didn’t give up and continued our search for Him and His glory?

I am not sure that I have really ever sat down to think about how I prioritize what it is that I seek. I know that I do prioritize other things, such as the to-do list, project completion, and personal time, but not sure about what I am seeking.

“³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

Jesus says here to place God and His kingdom at the forefront of all that I do. I am to earnestly look to Him for guidance and look to provide Him with glory. I am to do all and seek all for and of God first and foremost in all that I am engaged. So at the top of my priority list should always be “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”.

Now how do I apply that to my life and actions. Well, I should first open each day with Him. That is in prayer and study of His word to connect with Him and be guided by Him for my actions and direction for the day. Prayer is our way of communicating with the Father and reflecting on just what it is that He has planned for me.

As I move into and throughout the day, I should be looking more closely at each of my tasks and actions to align them with just what it is that God has planned for me. Will I always know exactly what it all is and/or means, no. But what I will be more conscious of is doing all for and about the glory of God.

When my day rounds out toward the end, it is now the time to thank God for giving me the path he chose for me and asking for forgiveness where I may have missed the mark. And finally I should ask for continued direction the next day.

Throughout the day, there will be many tasks that keep me busy and moving. When I am able to take time and ensure that I am doing all I can to follow and glorify the Lord, I will have a much more effective and efficient day. I will have sought after that which is most important, “the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. I have prioritized Him and as noted in verse 33 above, “all these things will be added to you”, referring to the needs we have for survival in this world.

What is at the top of your priority list for seeking? Are you looking for those items that satisfy your needs? What if you were to prioritize seeking “first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”?

“¹⁶I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” – Ezekiel 34:16 (ESV)

I am to be seeking for God. I am to earnestly be searching to find Him and devote myself to Him. As you can see in the verse above, God is earnestly searching to find me. Even when I have strayed from His immediate sight, He is looking to find and care for me. He is the great shepherd and we are His sheep, and He cares deeply for each one of us.

“¹²As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” – Ezekiel 34:12 (ESV)

God is the great shepherd. He seeks us out and as noted in verse 16, to bring us back to safety and will fully care for us in our time of recovery from the difficult path we were on or situation we were in. God is that to protect us when weak and build us back up.

I have to take solace in the care and love of God as I wander around in this world. I have to know that where ever I may stray, God is seeking to find me and make sure that I am safe and secure. He makes sure that I have what I need and that my provisions are met. I have to continue doing his work and He will continue to provide.

When you are in the world, what are your thoughts about being cared for? Are you able to know and understand that God is seeking you out for your protection? What if you were to trust that He will be there when things are bleak to pick you up and carry you to safety, nurse you back to health, and offer you the ability to continue doing His work with the comfort of knowing that He will always seek you out?

I know that there there have been times when I was looking and did not find and ended just giving up. What a difference that is over seeking something. Seeking is looking with earnest with intent on finding, as I note in the title of my writing here: with all your heart.

“¹³You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)

Looking for something seems to happen on a regular basis in our lives. Whether that is a job, a mate, a car, a relationship, or really most anything. When we are looking, I see that we are simply having an eye out and if we come upon it, we declare that it has been found. But was it really “found” or did we just happen upon it?

There is a difference when we are seeking. I go to the book by Napoleon Hill – “Think and Grow Rich”. Here he discusses the idea of committing to the idea of getting to the desired outcome. Committing all of yourself to attainment. Seeking is in the same category. And seeking the Lord is of great importance. We must seek the Lord with all of ourselves and commit to finding Him.

Seeking is not for the weak. It takes strength of mind, body, and soul, and all of our heart to find the Lord. I have to make it a point to actively work to reach the Lord. I have to put my mind to the search. I have to commit my heart. And when I do, I will find Him, right where He has been all along. He is with me. He never left me.

I cannot expect that the Lord will just show up for me. Although He is here and will always be here, for me to find Him I have to search with earnest. As noted above, I will find Him when I “seek” with all my heart.

When you are working to find God, how are you searching for Him? Are you looking, hoping to simply run into Him? What if you were to commit to finding Him with all your heart?

“⁶Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;” – Isaiah 55:6 (ESV)

There are a couple things found in this verse that I see, and have been reminded. First, the LORD is available all the time, but His offer of salvation has an expiration date. There is going to come a time when salvation will no longer be available for us to attain (the rapture). When that time is come, the offer expires and eternal life is no longer possible, it is eternal death for all those that did not accept the gift of salvation. It is up to us when we accept, but we have to remember that the offer does expire, and only God knows that date and time.

Secondly, I see that God is near now. As I go through “life”, “life” gets in the way. I tend to turn to all that is going on as opposed to seeking out salvation and looking for eternal life. The further I drift away the more difficult it becomes to come back. I remember when I was a younger man, first married, Lori and I were attending church regularly until I found the game of golf. Work was consuming and when I did have some time away from work, I would play golf. That time was on Sundays. I would play every Sunday morning and during that time, going to church was not on the radar. I had drifted away. There was not really a desire to go back and it became easier and easier to stay away as the next round of golf was on its way the following week. “Life” was in the way, and I was not in the mind of overcoming “life” to come back to God. Thankfully, God sent Bryson and Aarron for Lori and I to care for. The LORD gave us another opportunity to come back to Him and we/I did.

I can see that God will give us every chance to find Him. We have seek Him out though and remember that the offer of salvation is an expiring one and that the further we drift down “life”, the more difficult it is to find Him. God gave me another chance to come back to me and thankfully I was able see it and act on it. I was open to finding Him again and was able to make it back to Him. We have to seek Him now or the offer may expire, or we may drift too far away and the path back could be too difficult to embark.

When you are out there in the world, what does your seeking of God look like? Are you seeking Him now, or are you waiting for the right time? What if you took the chance to seek Him now while He is near, not to mention avoid missing out on the expiring offer of salvation?

“¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. ¹⁶From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.” – 2 Corinthians 5:12 & 16 (ESV)

I wrote about God looking inward and we should as well. Here in 2 Corinthians, Paul is stressing that point once again as Samuel did before. It is not for me to concern myself with the outward of myself or others. The LORD looks inward and I should as well.

When reading this morning, see and am reminded that Christ died and became a new creation as that which was known fell away. His outward appearance was inconsequential as He was now a new creation. I should concern myself with the same. Now that I am in Christ, I am a new creation and the old of me has fallen away.

“¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

I am to be here and focused on the inward parts of myself. I have to have a right heart with God. I have to do all things with His glory in mind. As such, my outward falls away and becomes inconsequential. It is important for me not to just concern myself with my inward parts, but look at others and be concerned for their inward parts and selves also. I should look to those inward parts and how they are there to glorify God. As such, the outward parts of them become inconsequential and fall away. I have to allow for the new creation of them to manifest for the glory of God.

When you think about yourself and others, what parts are you looking at? Are you concerning yourself with the outward and ignoring the inward parts? What if looked to the inward and how that is glorifying God and allowed for the outward parts to be inconsequential?

When I look out there in the world I admit that those taken to be influential are those that look the part. Those that are beautiful/handsome, tall, athletic, well dressed, as well as financially well off. We as a society look at them with wonder and frankly, envy.

“⁷But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.’” – 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

I know and am reminded here that the LORD is not in the same sphere of vision as I am. Whereas I am looking immediately at the outward appearance of someone to determine their influence and “power”, God looks immediately at the heart.

Oh what a difference there would be in society if that were the norm. Think of the story lines out there and the characters in those story lines. The beast from “Beauty and the Beast”, Quasimodo, and Frankenstein’s Monster, Stuart the mouse from the movie, the other characters were not exactly flocking to them to follow their leadership. They were less than desirable in societal terms, but in the end, they proved to be bigger than life, thanks to their heart. It was the inward parts that made all the difference.

In my life, I have to remember to look at the heart of the individual as opposed to the outward appearance, either physical or immediately visual. I have to look to the motives and the actions of the person to determine their inner workings. I have to be cued into more than that which is on the outside.

I have to be careful not to reject the outward based on what I see, I just have to be more cued into what it is on the inside to determine the goodness of the individual. After all, even as David was small and young in stature, he was also described as having beautiful eyes and was handsome. It was however his inward self that God looked on when David was anointed.

When you look into society, what are you looking for in those that you consider influential? Are you searching for those that look the part? What if we were to look closer at the inward parts as the LORD does as opposed to the outward parts we do today?