Seeking God

Seeking God means seeking His presence. “Presence” is a commontranslation of the Hebrew word “face.” We are to seek His face.

God is omnipresent and therefore always near to everyone and everything. His power is ever-present in sustaining and governing all things. And He is always present with His children in the sense of His covenant commitment to always stand by us and work for us to turn everything good. Matthew 28:20 tells us “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

But there is a sense in which God’s presence is not with us always. For this reason, the Bible repeatedly calls us to “seek the Lord…seek His presence continually “ -Psalm 105:4. God’s manifest, conscious, trusted presence is not our constant experience. There are seasons when we become neglectful of God and give Him no thought and do not put our trust in Him and find Him “unmanifested” which is unperceived as great and beautiful and valuable by the eyes of our heart.

His face -the brightness of His personal character is hidden behind the curtain of our carnal desires. This condition is always ready to overtake us. Which is why we are told to “seek His presence continually.” God calls us to enjoy continual consciousness of His supreme greatness and beauty and worth.

We should seek God practically. Both the Old and New Testaments say it is a “setting of the mind and heart” on God. It is conscious focusing of our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on God.

“Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God” -1 Chronicles 22:19.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not the things that are on earth” – Colossians 3:1-2.

This setting of the mind is the opposite of mental coasting. It is a conscious choice to direct our hearts toward God. This is what Paul prays for the church: “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ” -2 Thessalonians 3:5. It is a conscious effort o our part. But that effort to seek God is a gift from God.

There is always something through or around which we must go to meet Him consciously. He is often hidden. Veiled. Jesus’s sacrifice at the cross made it possible to seek Him without priests, or teachers of God. We should all take advantage of seeking God on our own, when you do, the findings are sure to bless you.