To Those Who Earnestly Seek Him
These past few months I’ve been working through the Experiencing God workbook by Henry T. Blackaby & Co. with a few close girlfriends. It was a slow start and if you’ve been a believer for as long as you can remember, it seems a little redundant and pretty basic. However, as we dug deeper into the workbook we began to see that going back to “the basics” of our Christian faith was exactly what the Lord was calling for us.
Day after day, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and fall into a routine of what you believe about God. Sure, you know the “formula” of the Gospel and what it means to technically be called a Christian. But in the midst and chaos of the day-to-day, that’s when we can get lost in our understanding of who God really is.
God’s character is to be praised! He pursues a relationship of love and invites us to join Him in His plan. Understanding our identities in the Kingdom is God’s will for us. We are His children -- His daughters -- and we are called by our Father to go out and make disciples while earnestly seeking His heart!
Now, I have trouble being vulnerable with God. He desires for us to deeply pour out our hearts to Him, but I tend to sugarcoat certain parts of my heart that I can’t even be vulnerable with to myself.
Pride comes out when you hold back your heart from God. Too often, I check off my spiritual list that I’ve spent time with God, then I can go about the rest of my day believing I’m full of the Spirit and I’m the best Christian I can be. Most of those prayers, however, tend to be pretty surface-level with no heart.
Our Creator knows the ins-and-outs, all the workings of us. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, what we are going to think and say before we even do, and He knows exactly how we process and take in everything around us.
How dare I withhold any of my heart from God when all He wants from me…. is me!? Being completely open with God is how we can earnestly seek Him! When we are as filthy as our sinful hearts can be and lay it all out before the Lord we are welcomed with grace upon grace upon grace upon grace!
All of those nasty parts, mistakes and secrets that you push to the deepest pit of your heart are exactly where you need to allow the Spirit to do His work! God is relentlessly and faithfully forgiving and wildly loving.
That moment we crumble on our knees before our Father with repentance and humility is the moment He smiles and welcomes us into His arms with love!
I make it a habit of praying to God literally on my knees, curled in a ball with my head down, and talking out loud to Him - sometimes on the comfort of my blankets on my bed, sometimes in the lowest position on the floor, sometimes quiet instrumental music or worship playing in the background, sometimes not.
No distractions. Just me earnestly seeking the Lover of my soul!
"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." -Matthew 6:6
Wherever my heart is at, whichever classes are stressing me out, how much money I have in my bank account today, or if that cute boy from church finally talked to me today, God’s got it! He knows how our days are going to go and He’s not surprised by what’s going on around us. When we always come back to His grace and His amazing love then none of that stuff matters because it is so temporary, and so of-this-world that it shouldn’t wreck the rest of your day. It’s not who you are. And it's not who He is.
"The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." -Psalm 145:18
To those who earnestly seek Him, may your days be ever filled with the hope that our Savior is coming back! Praise Him that this is not all that this life is. May your hearts be full of depth in the knowledge that you are oh so treasured! The greatest Lover of anyone ever treasures you!