What are You Seeking?

Isaiah 55:6 ~ "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near."

Jesus came to seek and save the lost (see Luke 19:10) and how thankful we are that He did so. His purpose of coming was to bring truth to light and the revelation of the Almighty to our hearts and minds. With a call to repentance and faith in Him, He will deliver all who believe in Him, and rescue them from their sin and the wrath of God. There was never a moment that Jesus missed in His ministry and pursuit. Even now, the Lord continues to call the wicked to repentance and faith. And His work of seeking the lost will continue until the end. 

But what about you? What are you seeking?

This question is often drawn upon the minds of those who have some industry of life they are wanting to pursue. They seek fame, treasure, honor, or power. Others seek romance and affection. Some seek a quiet, reclusive corner of life where they can disappear from the view of the crowds. There are as many avenues of pursuit in the minds of men across the world as there are men across the world. 

But consider our text today. Do you "seek the LORD?" 

For some, it is not the Lord that they seek but the provision of the Lord, His power and His gifts. They want to use the Lord for their own gain, have access to the Lord so that He will do what they demand. But to seek the Lord is to desire Him, not just His gifts.

The Lord wants us to know Him. And in this text God has opened the door for mankind to find Him... but you must do so "while He may be found." There will come a time when the way to God will be shut. Remember the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. In that parable, there were five unprepared to receive the bridegroom when He arrived. So, they departed to find what they lacked but when they returned they discovered that the way was closed to them, "And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut" (verse 10). 

We are living in a time of grace, with a promise of redemption offered to mankind, a window of hope that we can be saved and live in fellowship with the Almighty. But someday that window will close, the door will shut and the way will no longer be available to any who reject Christ. There is a "while He may be found" timeframe and it ought to put an urgency into your heart to seek the Lord immediately.

How, then, are we to seek Him? We are to "call upon Him while He is near." God is ever listening to His children who call upon Him. God is hearkening to the cry of the repentant sinner who longs for salvation. The Lord bends His ear to listen. Consider David's plea in Psalm 86:6, "Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace." The Lord God Almighty will listen to such a plea, for He delights in those who have humbled themselves and drawn near to Him. Later in Isaiah we hear God speak, "All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2). 

Beloved, there is no greater pursuit than to seek the Lord while He may be found. There is no blessing so profound as the blessing of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. There is no gift so precious as the gift of His mercy. But, how do we know that we will find Him? Because He, Himself, promised that you will. Consider Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."

So, where do we look? The answer to that is this: look in His word. Jesus said in John 5:39, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me." In the rebuke to the Pharisees, Jesus tells us exactly where to find Him--in His word, for they are what bear witness of Him. 

So, on this day, let us conclude where we started--seek the Lord. He is there to be found and He will be found by those who desire to know Him.

In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

---