SEEK THE LORD!
“I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause” (Job 5:8)
It is the honor and privilege of every Christian to know God and to walk with Him on a daily basis. He is the one true and glorious God who has created us and redeemed us so that we may walk with Him in this life and the next. The concept of seeking after God is characteristic of Christians, not non-Christians. It is an ongoing mindset and lifestyle of those who desire to know, love, and follow God. Becoming a Christian is a step in the process of seeking God, but only the first step, and the rest of one’s life is to be spent drawing closer to Him.
Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence. It is the conscious fixing or focusing of our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on God, “Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God” (1 Chronicles 22:19). “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2)
Seeking the Lord is a constant duty. It is the business of the whole life. To seek God is to solicit His direction, to petition His favors, and to depend upon Him as our help and portion. Seeking the Lord secures Divine favor for life and eternity. As a result, it is preferred over all other objects: “Whom have I in Heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!” (Psalm 73:25-26). The believer must seek him with earnestness and diligence. The whole heart is engaged. The good which they covet is infinite — they are not slothful. “I seek you with all my heart!” (Psalm 119:10).
“You will seek me and find me — when you seek me with all your heart!” (Jeremiah 29:13).
During great afflictions, stop complaining about your day, cursing creatures, distempering your head and disquieting your heart with these passions like Job did in the scriptures, but go and address yourself to God, apply yourself to Heaven and seek for remedy there, earth cannot afford to help you. “I would seek precisely and inquire laboriously unto God” , “I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 1:13)
Diligent searching necessitates an understanding of our desires; no one seeks what he already has. It is a strong desire to find what we want restlessly, “I will not give rest to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, until I find the Lord” ( Psalm 132:4). A seeking spirit is a careful spirit, searching for light and counsel. A sluggish spirit is unfit for seeking.
I would commit my cause to my God. Explicit prayer is the turning of our thoughts into words, or putting our case to God. This is pleading with the Lord. This connotes a resignation of ourselves and our conditions into the hands of God. Allow God to do as He pleases with regard to me; I will not strive or contend over, question or dispute His decision or judgment on my behalf. I’ll prostrate myself at His feet, tell Him how things are going with me, and then let Him do with me whatever He thinks is best in His eyes. This is what it means to commit our cause and condition to God. The great and impartial judge of heaven and earth, the God who loves judgment and whose throne habitation is righteous. The God who can tell the difference between one cause and another and will undoubtedly pass a just verdict on every cause and person that comes before Him
There are seven different ways to seek God:
Seeking God’s face is the process of getting close to God and attracting His presence into your life. It is hard work to seek God’s face, which takes time and effort like anything else worthy of pursuit in this life. Becoming a Christian is only the first step, and without diligently applying yourself, you will never draw close to the Lord or experience His presence and power in your life. You seek diligently to discover what he loves and values, and connect with him in order to have those same values permeate your own heart. It’s about knowing the heart of God, identifying with Him, and carrying out His purposes. It takes a lot of time and effort to seek him, but he will respond to you and come into your life in power so that you may fulfill your destiny.
1. Humility.
We should confess our pride and acknowledge our dependence on God (Isaiah 57:15), especially through fasting (Psalm 35:13).
2. Spending Significant Amounts of Time in God’s Word.
The importance of a thorough knowledge of Scripture cannot be overestimated—it is absolutely essential for living a righteous life and attracting God’s presence (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
3. Constant and Vigorous Prayer.
We should seek God more in prayer. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16).
4. Confess your sin and Repent.
Unconfessed sin grieves the Holy Spirit, blocks our experience of God’s presence, and brings chastening, whereas repentance brings forgiveness, blessing, and the presence of God (Jonah 3:10).
5. Total Obedience to God.
God gives special attention to those who walk with him blamelessly over time (Jeremiah 15:1). On the other hand, God disciplines Christians who do not wholeheartedly obey Him by following His commandments closely (1 Peter 4:17). We know that without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
6.Day after day, year after year, we continue to seek Him.
We must repeatedly ask, seek, and knock (Luke 11: 5–13), and we must persevere in prayer on a daily basis (Luke 18:1–8).We must also persevere in living righteously so that God hears our prayers as He did Elijah’s (James 5:16-18). We cannot expect God to draw near if we only draw close to him briefly or sporadically. But if we seek him continuously, we should expect him to draw near. It would be extraordinary to see what would happen if we committed even a year to seeking the Lord in this fashion.
7. Join forces with others in your quest for God.
Seeking God wholeheartedly necessitates the practice of energetically calling others to seek God’s face (Zechariah 8: 20–23) with other Christians. Days of corporate prayer for spiritual zeal and power are important (Nehemiah 8:13–18).
When we are directed to seek God in afflictions, it says these things:
Inquire of God about the source of our ailment. We’d like God to tell us what he’s thinking when he sends such a calamity, or why he’s sending it. Afflictions are the Lord’s messengers, and we should never be quiet till we know their errand.
To pray to God for the strength and patience needed to bear the affliction. As the affliction comes from God, so does the strength with which we stand under it or get victory over it.
To pray to God for the sanctification of affliction for our benefit, so that we may share in His holiness. Afflictions are good creatures of God, and they are sanctified for us by the word and prayer.
Seek God’s help in curing and easing your symptoms, as well as in removing or mitigating them. “In their affliction, they will seek me early, said the Lord” (Hosea 5:15). Seek God for medicine and healing: “Come and let us return unto the Lord, for He has torn, and He will heal us; he has smitten, and He will bind us up.” (Hosea 6:1)
“Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). I poured out my complaint before him, and I showed him my trouble (Psalm 142:2). One by one, David brought out his sins and laid them before God one by one.
Don’t commit a sinful or doubtful cause to God; it is a dishonour and a high strain of presumption against God. A wicked man’s prayer is always sinful, but how abominable is it when he prays to be prospered or to be strengthened in suffering for his sin!
BENEFITS OF SEEKING GOD'S FACE
1. We shall not lack any good thing. “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:10). The Lord has promised many good things to His people; indeed, the Scriptures are full of them, and all such gracious arrangements indicate the wonderful grace of God in providing them abundantly for us. Hence, the Psalmist says, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you!” (Psalm 31:19.) “The LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly!” (Psalm 84:11). “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you!” (Matthew 6:33).
2. We will undergo personal transformation—We become more and more fascinated with God rather than with the things of this world. We grow in intimacy with Jesus and develop a deep inner life with God.
3. We shall establish a lifestyle of encountering God in the place of prayer. Our heart connection with Jesus becomes stronger and stronger. We learn what it means to keep our lamp burning like the wise virgins at the midnight hour (Matthew 25:1-13).
4. We shall find victory in spiritual warfare: The powers of darkness are forced to retreat, and they lose their hold because the presence of God dwells with us.
5. We will learn God’s truth in a deeper way.
6. We will become more alive and will be able to work harder for God because when we abide in His love, we work harder than when we are simply workers (Romans 6:13). His love gives us strength to work with great zeal.
7. We experience confidence in God—We find that we are not condemned because of sin, but righteous in Christ. We realize our spiritual identity based on the finished work of Christ on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). We realize that we are pleasing to God (John 15:9).
Seek after God. He is our best friend when we are at our best, and he is our only friend when we are at our worst. Jesus asked the disciples, “Do you also want to go away? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. ” (John 6:67–68). Let us look for God. This is the wisest and shortest course.
God himself is our greatest reward. And when we have him, we have everything. Therefore, “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!” (Psalm 105:4)
Seek the Lord, the strong and mighty God, who is able to deliver you.
When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (Psalm 27:8)..I am still confident of this: “I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). Be strong, take heart, and wait for the LORD.
James Dina (james@mountzionblog.org)
July 26th, 2020
(Outlines from Joseph Caryl’s “EXPOSITION OF JOB” were used in the preparation of this sermon.)
