When we are seeking something, we are “seeking in order to find.” We seek because we desire; I doubt you would be seeking for something you don’t want to find. Maybe you’ve found what you’re seeking and you think, “Well, I have found it; I am satisfied.” However, when we are truly seeking something, we are not just content with our findings, we discover that our findings lead to more findings. True seeking involves thinking, meditating, and inquiring further into what we are seeking. Therefor, seeking is a continuous pursuit.

We have to be careful what we are seeking, then… understanding that what we seek is what has our attention and that our findings will define us. What we seek, therefore, should be absolute and not a changing idea or philosophy. If we are seeking a changing idea, we will be dissatisfied, because we will only come to find that what we are seeking is changing, not us. If we seek the Unchanging One who is God, we will find satisfaction in knowing that it is not Him that changes, but Him who changes us. God will never get better, we can only get better by our pursuit of Him.

Fortunately, God is not simply an idea; He is the Supreme Being, and we can inquire of Him as we seek after Him. If we seek to know Him, we can actually ask Him questions, and He will answer! The word “seek” occurs 229 times in my Bible translation (ESV), often encouraging to seek God, to seek an attribute of His in particular, and occasionally telling us what not to seek. As we seek God, we’re not only seeking to know more of Him, we’re also seeking to be more like Him. This means as we find more about Him, we seek those attributes of Him that should be displayed in our own lives and we seek to remove what hinders our seeking of Him.

Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
Psalm 105:4 (ESV)

I’ve been meditating on this scripture a lot recently. What does it mean to “Seek the LORD and his strength?” The word for “seek” here means to pursue God, usually by worship or prayer. The word “continually” is often used to mean constant sacrifice.

This isn’t saying “put your worship CDs on and pray regularly,” it’s saying WORSHIP God, continually sacrificing self to seek the Lord (maybe turn off those worship CDs if you think it’s hard to pray without them). Don’t stop seeking the LORD, even in your weakest times… that’s when you seek Him and His strength! It is Him who strengthens us, and there is no greater source.

I am challenging myself to find ways to get out of my routine and sacrifice something to seek God in prayer or in the Word. I find that I probably listen to the radio in the car too much (and I drive a lot). So, here are some suggestions: maybe turn off the radio in the car, watch less TV, or read less other books and replace them with the reading Bible or prayer.

Let’s start seeking!