What are you seeking?
Story time.
Years ago when Zac and I were first married and the only child we had was our first fur-baby Baxter, I vividly remember the day my wedding ring went missing.
I called Zac in a panic knowing just how much the ring meant to me. He did what every good hubby would do and asked all the questions I had already asked myself. Did you check the laundry? Did you set it by the sink? Did you look in the bed sheets? When is the last time you remember seeing it?
I had indeed searched through the dirty laundry. I did not set it by the sink. The sheets were clear. I could vaguely remember the last time I had laid eyes on it.
When he realized I was growing increasingly frustrated, he said a prayer that the Lord would help me find it quickly and told me he would help join the search when he came home from work.
When I hung up the phone, I remember thinking...I wonder if my dog swallowed it and has pooped it out?! I kid you not, my first instinct was to run to the pile of dog doo from that morning and begin to search through it.
I was seeking something so intensely, so fiercely because it had great worth and value to me. Not only did my ring cost a pretty penny, what it represented to me held weight. It showed others my commitment and love for the one God had given to me in holy marriage. I was determined to find that which I was seeking, and I was willing to go to great measures to do so.
After using a plastic bag (in case you worried I used my bare hands) to search through my dog's you know what, I found nothing. I had quite literally searched everywhere I knew to look.
I remember sitting at the bottom of the staircase, and with tears in my eyes, whispering a prayer to the Lord. "Father, help me find this ring, and let it happen quickly, in Jesus name I pray. Amen."
I looked up and saw Baxter at the top of the steps. He looked suspicious. He came down the stairs nonchalantly and sat next to me. He dropped his head, opened his mouth, and my wedding ring fell out of his mouth next to me! [insert bawling face emoji here]
The Lord literally brought me the ring after I had taken hours seeking and searching after that which meant something to me.
This story is to be continued...
To this day, I don't actually have that ring anymore! Guess you'll have to wait and find out why in another story time with Ashley.
Here is my question to you today. What are you seeking? What would happen if we used the same intensity and passion to seek after that which the Word tells us to seek after? The Bible is so clear in what we are to seek in life.
Matthew 6:33 AMP “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.”
Matthew 6:33 NLT “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
To seek something is to earnestly look for it with the expectation of finding it. To pursue something and keep on pursuing it without stopping. It is unfortunate that some people often do not seek God first. They seek everything else before they seek God.
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Matthew 7:7-8 NIV “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Seek first…
The kingdom of God- Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
His righteousness- right living- 1 Peter 1:13-16 NIV “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
His promise to us is that when we seek, we will find! There are so many hidden treasures in Christ. Are you seeking to know him more? Let's be encouraged to seek FIRST His Kingdom and His righteousness. Make a commitment to the Lord and yourself that you are going to take the last half of this year to go after God like you never have before! When you passionately seek Him, you won't be disappointed. He will literally deliver to you that which you are going after. You can't go wrong in your passionate pursuit of holiness with the desire to know him more.