The Bible often tells us to seek the Lord. For example, Psalm 27:8: "When you said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'" Hosea 10:12: "It is time to seek the Lord." Isaiah 55:6: "Seek the Lord while He may be found." And many others.
But the Bible also tells us that the Lord is seeking us: "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He says He is the Good Shepherd, who seeks His lost sheep. Jesus told how the Good Shepherd left the 99 sheep and sought the one lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7). He is like the woman who searched and found her one lost coin (vss. 8-10). Even the parable of the prodigal son tells the same truth: the son did not create love in his father's heart--he walked home only because he knew there was love in that father's heart for him.
Our salvation does not depend on our skill, our strength, our savvy, in finding an elusive God who is hiding from us; it depends on our believing, realizing, comprehending, appreciating, what it cost Jesus to seek and find us. If you work hard trying to find Him, you will naturally be proud of your accomplishment, especially when you consider how few people succeed. But if you realize that "from first to last," it has been Christ's seeking love trying to find you, then your proud heart is melted. And that is the beginning of a genuine Christian experience.
The Hebrew word often translated as "seek" means "inquire of," "pay attention to." Thus Isaiah 55:6 really says, "Pay attention to the Lord while He is available, call upon Him while He is near." But if our minds are clouded by indulgence in appetite, we simply cannot "pay attention" to Him. This is why Daniel fasted as he sought to pay attention to God: He spent "three whole weeks" in most earnest prayer: "I ate no pleasant bread," he says. Hunger strike? No; he went easy on desserts because he wanted his mind to be clear to comprehend the instruction of the Lord. In this solemn Day of Atonement, it surely is time to "pay attention to the Lord." That He is still "available" is tremendous Good News.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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