How To Seek The Lord Series

My friend in college had a spiritual roller coaster journey. We were friends before I came to Christ. He was backsliding and left our college when he was kicked out of our fraternity. He went to another college to play college baseball.

During that time, he became close to the Lord and appealed to the fraternity to move back in. He came as a witness to show others what a life surrendered to Christ was like. Again, we became friends as I had made a profession of faith. I took him along to a Christian meeting where he met the girl who would become his wife.

We met some years later in South Texas and I found out his roller coaster journey had continued. He mentioned a young person at his church who gave a testimony. They played guitar, sang, and said in their testimony that when they spend time with the Lord their spirit soars.

My friend resented that young man giving the testimony. He said you paint my face on him and that was me twelve years ago. He said let’s see how this young man does in twelve years when he has a job that keeps him on the road and family responsibilities with two children. Life becomes complicated. Let’s hear how you talk about letting your spirit soar then.

You may have your own spiritual roller coaster experience when you spirit would soar and then you felt like you were wondering in the spiritual desert. There is no doubt that holding a job, paying a house mortgage, and having family responsibilities can keep us from thirsting for God.

You will never drift toward the Lord, you only drift away from the Lord. We must deliberately focus to return to the Lord. Psalm 42 is the right Psalm to refocus on seeking the Lord and returning to that place where your spirit soars. It is not just for the young single person to know these refreshing spiritual streams of water. If we seek the Lord like we find in Psalm 42 we will grow close to the Lord in midlife and old age. We will be able to say the longer I serve him the sweeter He grows.

Even with serving the Lord we can drift away in our relationship with God. We could study the Bible, go to meetings and be busy serving people but not seek God like the deer pants for water. When that happens, we miss the fellowship with God that student was sharing about. We don’t need to resent the testimony of the young person whose spirit soars. We need to get our own spiritual life back on the right path.

I was looking at my wife’s testimony that her cup of joy runs over. She is seeking the Lord more than thirty years later and her spirit soars. This goas beyond circumstances. This kind of spiritual joy comes despite the circumstances.

This song is attributed in the introduction to the sons of Korah. Their history begins in Genesis and starts with rebellion against Moses and against God. By the time of the Psalms, they are leading worship. Subsequently to King David’s reign we see as recorded in 2 Chronicles 20 how they blessed their nation.

The Lord’s people were under threat from a vast army with the alliance of nations coming to attack them. They sought the Lord and pleaded the Lord for deliverance. While under this threat the sons of Korah led the people to praise God. They were appointed to sing to the Lord and praise him for his splendor and holiness. During the time of praise the Lord caused the armies to defeat each other. The place was always known as the valley of praise.

These sons of Korah are the experts in seeking God. We need to seek God like they do. Let them point us to seeking God. This Psalm still may be about or by King David. It is written in first person and fits the situation of David’s life. In that case the sons of Korah arranged and put to music another Psalm of David. Whatever the case David’s life parallel’s this Psalm.

Like the college student whose spirit soared David was tremendous in his time with God and power of God in his life in his younger years. The Spirit of God gave him power to kill a bear, a lion and the giant Goliath.

When I was twenty-four years old, I was leaving Kansas City for an interview. I sat on the plane with the CEO of an Insurance company, Farmers Insurance group. He was reading the leadership book In Search of Excellence. I asked him what he was doing back here with me on the passenger plane. He said they were servicing his private corporate jet.