Lent Day 19

1 Chronicles 16:11

Look to the Lord and his strength;

Seek His face always

I remember reading this scripture several years ago and thinking I could never seek His face always.  At the time I thought to seek Him meant to be in church, at worship and feeling that tingling feeling you get when you know the Holy Spirit is there and I had no idea how to find that all the time.   I remember being so overwhelmed by this scripture and thinking I could never lead a life that sought Him always. God promises us if we ask, we shall receive and when I asked Him what this meant and how to I lead a life that seeks Him always, He showed me it’s much simpler that I thought.

 He started with the definition of always and seek.  These are two easy words you think I would know the definition, but as I looked them up and thought through all of the definitions, it became clear to me what The Lord meant by seeking His face always.

 Always (Hebrew Taniyd) continuance, at all times, without interruption. Used to emphasize constant personal devotion. (Hebrew Greek Key word study bible)

 The last part of this definition is what caught my attention.  I had always thought a confirmation of seeking God was to seek His presence, by receiving that tingling Holy Spirit feeling, but I began to understand to seek was something I did rather than something I received.   This seems obvious but It helped me to understand seeking Him does not always result in that tingling response from God.   I had limited my understanding of seeking to thinking I was seeking only when I felt Him.  But when I read that the definition of always included a constant personal devotion, it helped me to separate what I was doing from what I was receiving, and understand seek in a completely different way. 

 Seek – (dictionary.com) to be sought after, to be desired or in demand

1)            To go in search of or quest

2)            To try to find or discover by searching

3)            To try to obtain

4)            To go to

5)            To ask for; request

 He showed me first that to seek Him means to desire Him and make my life one that is in pursuit of Him, always, not just about feeling His presence.   Then He showed me there are different ways to seek Him.  It didn’t just mean to look for Him, it also meant

1)            To find Him, look for Him throughout my day and realize He was with me (look)

2)            Question Him to understand Him more (understand)

3)            Use the understanding I receive to obtain the life He wants for me (obtain)

4)            Come to Him to receive all I need (receive)

5)            Come to Him to ask for His truth (request)

 As I thought of these different definitions I began to realize the different things I did throughout my day  to seek Him

1)            Going to church and worshiping Him

2)            Praying

3)            Reading His word and asking for understanding

4)            Having a Godly conversation

5)            Sharing the gospel

6)            Struggling through trials with Him

7)            Loving others

8)            Doing acts of kindness

9)            Listening to Christian music

10)          Being a representation of Him to others

 These are just a few examples and there are many others.  I learned I seek Him always by making my life about Him.  I had set an unattainable goal for myself when I limited my definition of seeking to seeking His presence.   He taught me I seek Him always by making my life about Him and the things I do for Him throughout my day.   This scripture originally made me feel defeated because I knew I couldn’t uphold it by the way I understood it.  But our faithful God, stayed with me and taught me what He meant by His words.  He never puts something before us we cannot obtain and if it seems that way, we need to seek Him and ask for His understanding and He will show us the way.   A life with God is not hard but when we don’t understand Him, it is hard to follow.  But the more we understand of Him, the more we know His way, the easier it is to lead a life with Him and seek Him always. 

 Throughout your day, remember these 5 ways of seeking, Find, understand, obtain, receive and request and think of the things you are doing or could be doing to seek Him.  Make your life about Him…always

 Peace and love,

 LeAnn