God rewards those who seek Him earnestly. Wisdom, with God from the beginning, cries out to us that she loves those who love her and will be found by the diligent seeker. These two promises are enough to build my life on for today.
These promises mean that seeking not only exists but is also fruitful—if there is such a thing as seeking, there must be such a thing as finding. And I believe that if we seek something, we will find it because of another promise from Mark 4.22: “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open” (NIV).
And if we take it a little further, Jesus warns us against inaction in regard to seeking just a few verses later in Mark 4, where He says that those who have will be given more, and that in regard to those who do not have, even what they have will be taken. I take this to mean that He wants us to get out there and get after it, seek while there is yet the light of day and finding is still possible. We must open our ears while the creation still pours forth speech.
Mission Impossible
Would God hide anything without intending to reveal it? Your answer will reveal how well you know Him.
If you would insist on clinging to all your evidence for His harshness (like I used to do), I am bound to warn you that you’re taking the wrong approach to the throne of grace. There is no access that way. That way lies the harshness of the law, and Jesus already walked there for you. There is no need to prove scriptures like Psalm 18.26, 2 Samuel 22.27, and Titus 1.15.
But if you have made a practice of activating your faith, you know well enough to take the next step, no matter how hard, that God does indeed reward the diligent seeker. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there is no such thing as a casual seeker. The words casual and seeker are inherently antagonistic toward one another, and as for us here at WhiteNoise Studio, the message we’ve been entrusted to carry is both designed and intended to wake such sleepers from the dead.
What Do You Seek?
Jesus asked this very question of two of John’s disciples as they left the forerunner to follow the actual (John 1.38-39). The answer they gave Him set them decidedly on His path. They inasmuch said that they just wanted to be wherever Jesus was. And His response, “Come and see,” meant, “Welcome to it.”
Welcome to the journey of the seeker. Welcome in; there will be struggle and frustration, sure, but there will be surprise and delight because when God gives, He adds no sorrow with it. If there is to be sorrow, it is but momentary and light, and it won’t be because of the kingdom of God but because the kingdom of God is breaking into a fallen world that is full of unavoidable sorrows.
Too often we think of the temporary as permanent. And that usually means we undervalue the everlasting.
When we slip into this mode, we usually begin to seek things that will attempt to murder the new life God has breathed into us by His Spirit. And if we seek darkness and death (which are what all our self-interested pursuits are aimed at), we will find them both. You will indeed find what you seek.
The Finding
One thing I’ve noticed about seeking Jesus in this life: He usually surprises me. I used to say that I’m a little slow, but now I’m not so sure that’s the case. I just think He’s incredibly creative. He’s not trying to ambush me; He simply can’t help being who He is.
We set out on every journey we take thinking we know the destination. We think we know what it will take to get there, how long it should take, what we need to bring, and so on. That’s all rubbish.
Finding does indeed lie toward the other end of seeking, but it’s not like it’s GAME OVER once we get there. Far from it, really. For every fulfillment I’ve experienced under the sun, the finding has been a new beginning. Finding is like fuel for the fire of seeking. Seeking really is, I think, one of those eternal things that is breaking into the corrupted world and ripping it apart from the inside. And if that’s the case, there is a huge revelation coming—things that have remained hidden until now—that God longs to disclose and unveil because He is, and these things are, so very, very good.
Come and See
Is there any good reason why, today, you would not surrender to the still, small voice drawing you toward the light? All His promises are yes and amen. Is there any reason why you would choose to refuse the call? Is there any good reason why you would not respond, even desperately, especially if you’re as desperate as I usually am? Do you not pant for the light and cry out, “More, Lord,” whenever you perceive it?
God answers the prayer of the afflicted. The fact that there is a thing called seeking means that we absolutely will find, if we persist and do not give up. And trust me, believer, you haven’t begun to imagine the greatness of the reward.
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