Seeking God

Today's Reading: Psalm 48; Jeremiah 42; & Revelation 12

Scripture:

"...that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do." Jeremiah 42:3

Observation:

Reading the book of Jeremiah is a painful view of the stubbornness of man as it pertains to submitting to God. In this passage I see clearly an outline of what not to do when seeking the will of God in my life.

Application:

First, I should never allow fear of man, greed for gain, or desire for personal comfort drive me towards seeking after God. If those things take me to God then they can just as easily can take me away from God. Seeking after God is not about getting my wish list. It is about surrendering my life to serve the only true God. It is about His wish list; not mine.

Second, I should never define the outcome before I come to the LORD. He is the LORD. His ways are not my ways; they are higher. His desires are not my desires; they are purer. His purposes are not my purposes; they are more noble. It is senseless to set my sights on an outcome or change in circumstances that I perceive to be the best solution. At best, my way will simply relocate me to another place and still leave me facing the same issues. At worse, I will find myself sideways with God for not giving me my way.

Finally, I should never expect an easy or logical answer. Jeremiah spent ten days praying to God before he got an answer. I get frustrated when it takes me more than ten minutes to get an answer on anything. I must learn to endure in prayer. Seeking after God is rarely about receiving the thing I desire. More times than not, God uses the pain of my longing or the fear I am experiencing to draw me close and mold me into something new. That is a process that takes time.

Prayer:

The world I live in is a consumer driven beast. Every where I look I the message is clear; "It all exists to make your life better." Steering clear of that mentality is royal battle and it makes enduring challenges or doing without a near impossible feat.

Father I am fully convicted this morning of the idols in my life. I seek You daily but I seek You for the fulfillment of my life's dreams and ambitions; for the easement of my pain and confusion; or for the filling of my loneliness and longings. I have placed the desires of my heart above my fear and respect of You. That is sin and I confess it to You.

If my relationship and experiences with You are not real and tangible then I am toast. There is not a chance in hell I will ever stand firm if my walk with You is anything less than living, breathing, and active.

Father I give to You my life today. Take me and use me as You see fit. Invade my thoughts, my desires and my emotions; turn them all towards You. Allow my experience of Your favor, presence, and love to be the real and tangible sustenance of my life.