The Seeking

One day a sweet far-away friend shared with me how each day she was anxious to hear from me. She was going through an especially hard trial, and clearly she appreciated receiving love, encouragement and prayer from a sister in the Lord. But I sensed there may have been something more. A longing, a desire, maybe even a desperation, a hunger, a thirst, a need, a necessity, to know she was loved, cherished, appreciated, cared for, thought about, to be known, understood, to have compassion, for mercy, for hope and peace, like she was reaching out her hands, and her heart, from incredibly far away geographically to receive something she had to have. I cannot speak for her, but I can speak for myself.

For years, going through seemingly endless trials, I was desperate beyond measure for all of this. And I was utterly convinced I would find this in a person. I was right, and I was wrong. For each day, I sought in people what I was convinced I needed. I was right I would find what I needed in a person. But it wasn’t until years later I truly understood that person is the Lord Jesus Christ. Once I found the Lord, however, for a long, long while, He seemed far away from me geographically. Like God lived in the sky, too far out of reach for me. Though I knew His Spirit lived inside me, I did not have the intimate relationship with Him I have today that comes from devoting myself utterly to Him, submitting to Him as Lord of my life, living for Him, and daily, every single day, seeking Him, fellowshipping with Him, learning of Him, praying to Him, praising and worshiping Him, listening to and obeying Him, drawing ever closer to Him and Him to me, digging, digging, digging into His Word and learning to live by it, crying out to Him, pouring out my heart to Him, following Him, being filled and re-filled with His Spirit, being sensitive to the leading of His Spirit, and still, becoming closer, and yes closer to Him.

Praise the Lord He gives us Christ followers to love and encourage us, to pray for and help us follow Him, to fellowship with, to serve Him alongside, etc., but people are never to come before the Lord or instead of the Lord. Years ago, the Lord was not first in my life. Now He is.

The psalmist in the scriptures above makes so clear His passion for the Lord, His need, His yearning, His delight, His hunger and thirst, His crying out to Him, His seeking Him early and often, even in the night, His focus on the Lord. Oh, how satisfied He must have been. For the Lord satisfies those who live for and yearn and long for Him. I know this because the Bible makes it clear. And I know this because He has done just this in my life. He answers my seeking Him. He meets my longing. He feeds my hunger and quenches my thirst, and then He makes me even hungrier and thirstier for Him because the more I know Him, the more I love and desire more of Him.

The Lord did not create us to be alone. He created people all around the world to walk alongside us. But we are created first and foremost to love and worship Him, and though He most assuredly pours out His love through people, He wants our greatest desire, and our greatest seeking, our greatest longing, and our greatest reverence, to be for Himself.

Seek the Lord early. Seek the Lord often. Seek the Lord continually. Seek the Lord, oh seek the Lord, seek the Lord, my friend! May He be the one you seek more than anything! May He be the one you seek more than anyone! May He be the object of your longing! May He be the one you cry out for! Oh, seek Him!