Seek Him While He May Be Found ~ Isaiah 55
Seeking the Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ
“When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me; Put not thy servant away in anger: Thou hast been my help; Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take me up. Teach me thy way, O LORD, And lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.”
— Psalm 27:8-11
When the psalmist commits to seek the face of the Lord, he is not referring to mere surface level searching. Nor is he satisfied with the mere knowledge of God or just knowing of His power and presence. There is a genuine desire to dig so deeply into the mind and heart of His Lord as to extract the fullness of all that God has shown Himself to be for his own intimate experience. His heart yearns to encounter the divine power and presence of the Almighty in his life personally and on his behalf.
This must also be our heart and passion as a child of God. Such power and divine presence cannot be experienced apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit and our yielding to His leading and prompting. God desires such a relationship with each of us, but it does not come without effort and surrender, especially in the midst of conflict and difficulties. Whenever we encounter the storms of life we are to keep our focus on the our Savior. He will give guidance, provide strength, and calmness of spirit to get us through triumphantly. Read carefully Romans chapter 8 and meditate on its truths and promises. "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." (Rom. 8:37)
Our Resurrected LORD~Death Hath No Hold On Him!
The Resurrection and The Life ~ Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:9)
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin…knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” — Romans 6:4-6,9
God’s plan can never be thwarted. He is all powerful and all knowing. The sacrifice of His Son Jesus was foretold, and plans were set in motion well before the creation of mankind. He knew there would be a need, and He prepared for the rescue of mankind from sin, by His sinless Son, Jesus Christ. Speaking of Jesus: "upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, set down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Heb. 1:1-4)
As followers of Jesus Christ, the same power that resurrected our Savior is working on our behalf and within us, despite the enemy’s tactics. This is the resurrection power by which we are kept after salvation, through which we grow spiritually in our walk with the Lord, and in our knowledge of Him. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.” (Phil. 3:10)
"..be filled with the Spirit." (Eph. 5:18)
The Spirit-Filled Life~
The Spirit Filled life means it no longer matters what I want, but what God says.
If I am in my emotions and allow them to lead, they will dictate what I want in many negative ways. Choices made with emotions leading us will not be beneficial and can, in fact, be disastrous. They can cause us to disregard godly wisdom or scriptural viewpoints, and the resultant consequences. The negative impact of emotion-led instead of Spirit-led lives, are seen all around us. May we be ever aware of what we can do to keep the Spirit leading our every step.
First, you must be in the family of God through spiritual new birth. As a child of God, you must allow the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to take the lead in your life. Through prayer and daily reading of God’s word, we can learn God’s desires and thoughts for every area of our Christian walk. “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” (Jn. 16:13)
We must not just read God’s word but commit to applying godly principles in all that we do. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (Jas. 1:22) Not just what we consider “church” stuff or “spiritual matters”, but routine decisions and choices in our relationships, finances, education, and work. Nothing should be off limits to the One who sacrificed His Son to offer us eternal life.
What happens when (not if) we fail? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(I Jn. 1:9) We are blessed to know and be reassured throughout scripture that we have a faithful and forgiving Savior. Our Heavenly Father extends His mercy to those who humbly call upon Him. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23)
Our Firm Foundation ~ "For other foundation can no man lay..
Jesus Christ and His Word ~ Our Firm Foundation (I Cor. 3:11)
Jesus Christ and His word must be our foundation for a successful Christian walk. The truths revealed throughout scripture are to be the standard by which we measure every action and the guide to our thought process. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."(Jn 17:17) Without this absolute truth, there will be doubt and spiritual confusion. Such uncertainty comes when we venture outside of God's Word and will for our lives.
God has a very specific plan and purpose for each of His children. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."(Rom 8:28) There is nothing He will call us to do that will be contrary to His word or holy character. We need to search the scriptures daily with a receptive heart and a humble spirit that we may allow His life giving truths to saturate our heart and mind. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."(II Tim 2:15) "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."(I Cor 2:16)
Whenever we doubt or fail to believe the promises God has given to us throughout scripture we will encounter turbulence in our Christian walk. We must not confuse our manner of thinking and responding with the way God thinks and acts towards us. God reminds us, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."(Isa 55:8,9) The end result may not always turn out as we like, but God in His omniscience, always does what is best for us. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phil 2:13) If we truly want to know and do God’s will; prayer is essential, so that talking to Him comes as naturally as breathing. His Word is to become the foundation for our prayers. Such prayers will divinely affect our lifestyle, actions and character. "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion."(Ps 71:1)
Are you standing firm on the only sure foundation? God has given us His Word and the privilege of prayer that we may know Him personally and understand His will. When we received Jesus Christ as Savior we were instructed to stand firm on His promises, trust His unchanging character, and rest in His unconditional love. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:"(Col 2:6)
Our Top Priority ~ Seeking Jesus, Knowing Him, Loving Him
Expressing Love and Devotion ~ “..seek Me..find Me, when ye search..with all your heart.” Jer. 29:13
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”
— Deuteronomy 6:4-9
How shall we express our love and devotion to the Lord? He has not changed. His desire for His people today is no different than the instructions and boundaries He laid out for the Israelites. The most important question to ask is: How will we respond?
The greatest expression of our love and devotion is obedience to God’s word and submission to His will. (Prov. 3:5-6) There must first be trust before there can be a genuine desire to submit. This trust is built where there is a relationship founded on the truths of scripture, our growing understanding of God’s sacrificial love and how that love is constantly expressed in our daily life.
As we start this New Year, may our devotion to the Savior be our highest priority. (Col. 1:17-18) Whenever He is our focus, all the other things in our life fall into its proper place.
New Year. New Goals. Renewed Relationship with the Savior. (Matt. 11:28)