Seeker
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
My initial focus when reading this scripture is on the requirement of faith to please God. That word “impossible” grabs my attention and creates a focal point for my thoughts. I must have faith to please the God I serve.
But for the subject of this writing I am focusing on a different truth presented in the scripture. What pleases God? The last part of the scripture points out that God rewards are granted to those who “seek” Him. This is, in fact, the whole point of the scripture and for that matter, the whole point of faith. The author of Hebrews could have just as well stated that it is impossible to seek God without faith.
I propose that we who walk out the Christian way here on earth seriously undervalue the importance of seeking God. Oh we get the whole not sinning part of the way, although we may not be too successful at that part. But I think we miss the momentousness of seeking God, His Son, His righteousness and His kingdom. In support of my proposal I would point to the fact that so few Christians spend time in prayer and the time we spend is most often in petitioning for an answer to a need.
Now, I have no problem with going to Almighty God for help in times of need. Believe me when I say that I do it all the time. But what about the additional minutes, or hours if you are that holy, for time spent seeking God’s face, learning about Him or simply stopping and relaxing in His presence. Our God is our Father. A Father certainly desires to help His children. But what separates a Father from a guardian or a benefactor is the desire to commune with His children. God seeks our presence and evidently He rewards those who seek His.
Practically speaking we, as children of God, should invest much more time in seeking God’s presence than in petitioning His assistance. God rewards those who seek Him. Those who knock will have the door opened to them. Those who seek God will be rewarded with His presence, and it is in God’s presence where we find peace, joy, “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” It is in our Heavenly Father’s presence that we find fulfillment for our spirit, redemption for our souls and even health for our earthly vessels. God is that good!
When Jesus was here on earth in human form, how did He spend His time? Was His main objective in instruction to show us how to ask God for help? Did He spend valuable hours on a 5 step lesson for getting God to answer your prayer? His ministry was one of communion. His focus was not on the petition as much as it was on the presence of God. Why? Because Jesus understood that God was a Father and that He desired to do good things for us, His children. You do not have to petition a Good Father. He will be continually at work, providing good things for you. Not as a butler on beckon call. But as a loving Provider Who enjoys an opportunity to bless those He loves! That is our God.
He desires us to seek Him. He wants us to want Him. Not for His good but for ours! He is a Father! But we need faith to seek God. How does a person seek whom he does not believe exists? How do we as earthbound creatures seek the Eternal One, the One existing beyond the boundaries of our physical limits? Faith is needed to please God, and God is pleased when we drawing near to Him.