LEARNING DAILY

 

Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

The last few pages of the blog have been about God who seeks, who pursues each of us. Today, we must understand the importance for each of us to “diligently seek Him”, to pursue Him. Our faith and our salvation are not passive; true faith not just a passive belief that God exists and saves us through Jesus Christ but actively seeks to know Him and be in His will. Do not be deceived into thinking God is not watching. Psalm 53:2 specially tells us, “God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand who seek God.”

 

There are two questions to be answered. Are you diligently seeking or pursuing God as He desires? That is a question for only you to answer. What does it mean to pursue God? Today’s blog is to suggest some thoughts about how you can pursue God. Can I suggest that pursuing God is an all-in attitude. Like anything one does in a half-hearted, half-way attitude, the results are half-hearted at best. I think of the Sower who half-heartedly threw out seeds and only to have them destroyed by the tares that grew up. One who decides to follow Jesus but does not pursue Him will find the cares of the world interfere with his attempt to follow Jesus and will finally give up. Following Jesus on the narrow way requires a wholehearted, all-in attitude; the result is a bold belief that God rewards those who “diligently seek Him”.

 

When my grandchildren were little and they would spend the day with me, we would play hide and seek. There were a few times I would hide so they could not find me. But most of the time I would hide so they could find me. When they did, the chase was on with all of us laughing and making a lot of noise. I wanted them to find me. God could easily hide so His children did not find Him. But He is never too busy nor does He hide from us; He wants His children to find Him in order to know Him and increase our faith. He makes it easy for when we pursue Him He is found.

 

This means we put God first in our lives; His is our priority in life. Matthew 6:33 clearly promises, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” What things? The things we need – food, drink, clothing, and the necessities of life. Our priorities change when we truly follow Jesus. Seeking Him is continually pursuing Him, to become like Him so that He is honored in our lives so His light is seen by others. By seeking His righteousness, we seek to obey His commands and seek to be separated from worldly applause, fame, riches and all things that would separate us from the love of God. Then others begin to ask what is different about us and we have opportunity to share how Jesus has changed us.

 

When you pursue Jesus and His righteousness through placing Him above everything else in your life you will grow spiritually and faith becomes a way of life. When you place Him above all things, your desire to know Him better causes you to have a hunger for His Word, to spend time in prayer and to serve Him with your talents. God wants you to draw near to Him and when you do, He will draw near to You (James 4:8). When you search for God with all your heart, you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). Those are promises based on the condition that you seek Him. He wants to be found! He wants to be the center, the focus of your life! He wants to pour out His blessings on you so that you can bless others.

 

Can I challenge you to pursue God? This is not just a casual, self-paced pursuit. It is a pursuit where you intend to overtake the One you are pursuing. Can I challenge you (and me) to pursue God as King David and the apostle Paul did? If you do, you will experience an intimacy with God at an entirely new level.