Several years ago American Family Publishers was sending out sweepstakes notices trying to sell magazines. Their mailing list included the Bushnell Assembly of God in Bushnell, Florida. The computer twisted the name and sent them a notice addressed to “God of Bushnell.”
The form letter read: “Dear God, We’re searching for you. You’ve been positively identified as our $11,000,000 mystery millionaire.” The letter went on to encourage God to come forward and claim His prize.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they truly were searching for God? If they sensed what Pascal called a “God-shaped vacuum” in their lives? If they realized their need to know and understand who God is? If they understood that the “prize” God offers is so much greater than the monetary prize they were offering.
The prophet Isaiah called upon his generation to “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near” (Isa 55:6).
The exact phrase “seek the Lord” is used 32 times in Scripture. And there are over 50 additional verses that speak to the importance of seeking God.
But what does it mean to “seek the Lord”?
Seeking God begins with our intense desire to know Him. Not just intellectually. But emotionally. Relationally. Spiritually. To feel His presence in our lives. To realize that he is ‘not far from each one of us” (Ax 17:27).
Seeking God requires humility. It’s an admission that we are feeble and frail. That we are not self-sufficient. And that every breath we take is because God allows us to live.
Seeking the Lord acknowledges our need for pardon. The text says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon” (Isa 55;7). Seeking the Lord elicits the divine favor of God and evokes His mercy and grace.
Seeking the Lord produces peace in our lives. It is a peace, as Paul put it, “ that surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7). It’s a peace that provides a calm assurance that “it is well with my soul.”
Seeking the Lord brings provisions of spiritual blessings. These blessings are found in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3). The privilege of prayer. The cleansing power of Jesus’ blood. The fellowship of the saints. And the Divine association that we enjoy through Jesus.
Seeking the Lord provides purpose in our lives. We know there is more than what is here. We can lay up treasures in heaven. We can find fulfillment and satisfaction in our spiritual mission and ministry. And can see the things above that await the faithful.
Seeking the Lord ought to be the aim of our lives. Seeking to know him. Seeking to please Him. Seeking to serve Him. And seeking to one day see Him face to face.
God is not hiding. Seek the Lord.
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
Ken, another wonderfully thought-provoking message! And I love the story of American Family Publishers’ mailing to God. How people seek and “get” God is one of my favorite subjects. So that story cracked me up. Thank you!