Truly Seeking; Really Finding

Seekers, finders; finders, worshippers…

Welcome to Truly Seeking; Really Finding!

I’m excited to share thoughts and learnings from my journey of growing in my knowledge of the One true God who is King and Lord over all.

I love the Bible. It’s the most amazing book in our world- don’t let anyone tell you differently. The wisdom in the Bible? Profound! The relevance of the Bible [even ages after its books were written]? Undeniable! The language of the Bible? Beautiful! These are just a few reasons why I love the Bible and these don’t begin to even scratch the surface of what an outstanding gift the Bible, the Word of God, is.

But of course, nothing good comes – or is – easy.

Sometimes, it’s really hard to understand the Word and what exactly you need to take away from a particular verse of scripture or even an entire passage. 

I’ve come to understand that this is perfectly alright. Why?

First of all, the written Word points to a Person (John 1:1, 14). The written Word points to the Living Word who is Jesus. So engaging with the Word is, in fact, engaging with a Person. Engaging with the Word is engaging with Jesus.

So what are we doing when we engage with the Word who is Jesus? We’re building a relationship. 

Question. What relationship is easy? Parent-child? Sibling? Boyfriend-girlfriend? Husband-wife? Boss-employee? This is the point: an inescapable part of any real relationship is genuine puzzlement.

How often have you left a conversation or some scenario with someone thinking one or any number of these among others that indicate how totally befuddled and bewildered you are:

• Why would he say that?
• What did she even mean?
• Who does that?
• Why would he even do that?
• What is up with her?

Now… here we are engaging with Jesus – a figure so complex and amazingly multifaceted that He almost always left even people with whom He lived and walked (even intimately) – completely flummoxed (that’s a fun word, isn’t it?!) with the things He said and did.

Why, then, would we think a relationship with this same Jesus [Hebrews 13:8] would be smooth-sailing and entirely easy? If anything, it’s super arrogant to think easy and at no cost to us is how it should go.

So… yes, I do think it’s perfectly alright that we don’t always completely understand everything that the Word of God has to say BUT I also think it’s extremely unwise to give up trying to understand some portion of Scripture you didn’t quite understand [especially at first glance]. While this may sound kind of contradictory, it really isn’t.

Question. If you were really interested in someone and the person said or did something you didn’t quite understand, would you just say, “Well, who could ever understand him/her?” or “Aah well, who knows what (s)he means or what (s)he was thinking?” or some other variation of either of these tantamount essentially to “I can’t com’an kee myself…”

And yet how often have we carelessly and lackadaisically brushed aside something we didn’t understand at first glance in the Word of God because “it’s too complicated” when we have no problem trying our very best to un-complicate relationships that have the proud tag of “It’s complicated”.

How quickly do we forget that the Word we’re setting aside so hastily and easily is the very essence of life! [John 1:3-4]. 

It is how we live and move and have our being [Acts 17:28a] – and casting it carelessly aside is like a patient dependent on an oxygen tank casting it aside carelessly because “those cables are so annoying”.

Here’s what I’m trying to say: the Word of God is not just a script we’re engaging with for knowledge; the Word of God is our opportunity for a relationship with God Himself… with Jesus Himself… with the Holy Spirit Himself – a relationship which transforms us for the better [2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12]

Final question. What are we doing squandering so great an opportunity to know God because it’s not easy?

Every day, go into the Word with the assurance that those who seek Him who is the Word – truly seek Him – find Him. Keep this truth on repeat [on your lips, in your mind, in your heart]: those who seek Him find Him. Always. Eventually. So don’t give up the search.

I pray that this encourages you to begin your own journey of seeking – and finding – the King because truly seeking Him is definitely finding Him and those who find Him, those who truly encounter Him, are those who really worship Him [Matthew 2:11].

Here are a few verses to keep you encouraged as you begin and/or keep going on this oh-so-important journey:

• Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.

• Deuteronomy 4:29

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

• Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me find Me.