Seek and You Will Find Him

Kenna got a Rapunzal doll for her birthday a few years ago, and she absolutely loved it! A minor tragedy struck one day when she had lost her doll. She came to me with tears in her eyes because she couldn’t find it anywhere.

“I’m so sorry,” I told her. “Why don’t we stop and pray about it? God knows where it is so let’s ask Him for help.”

After we had prayed about it, we kept looking. Hours passed and no one in the family could find Kenna’s doll! She was growing more and more disappointed. She walked up to me and asked, “Do you think God is playing hide and seek?”

I’m sure you’ve felt like that at times. We all have. You feel like you’re searching and searching, and God is…

…way off in the distance somewhere just watching you hopelessly run in circles. You may even be praying and pouring your heart out, but feel like your prayers just drift off into space. It seems like there’s a big cosmic game of hide and seek going on ~ God is hiding, you are seeking. But this game is no fun at all!

A friend of mine feels stuck in a horrible marriage. She knows the answer to her situation would be to find a job, take her kids, and leave her husband. She has been praying and seeking God’s help for months and months, but nothing is turning up. It’s been one dead end after another. I’m sure she feels like she’s caught up in that hopeless game of hide and seek. But I also wonder if maybe she is seeking her own answer to the problem instead of opening herself up to God’s eternal solution. God doesn’t always give us the answer we are looking for, but He is always faithful to give us the solution that will lead to lasting joy and fulfillment.

God says a lot in His word about seeking. He promises that when we seek we will find, but there are some stipulations there. First of all, are you seeking with all your heart? Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” And then over in Deuteronomy 4:29, we hear the same message: “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Are you really pouring every bit of yourself into your search? Are you really hoping to find God’s answer…even if it’s not the answer you were hoping for? Open yourself up in your search, not just for a specific door to open, but for an entire future to unfold before you ~ one that glorifies God and brings you abundantly more than you could have ever imagined. When we have preconceptions in our search, then we often shrink God down to something we can grasp in our human hands. God is so much bigger than our imaginations. Don’t just seek for a single answer, seek for a bigger picture of all that God wants for your life.

God also says that when we seek, our priorities need to be in order. Matthew 6:33 tells us, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” People are often caught up in “all these things” instead of “His kingdom and His righteousness.” We pray for money while we’re disobedient with the funds He has already provided. We pray for a new house while we’re irresponsible with the one He has already provided. It happens all the time. That’s why God’s word says to seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness. When God is our top priority, we don’t get stuck in a game of hide and seek. God is not elusive. He wants to reveal Himself to us. But so often we run ourselves ragged trying to chase crumbs all over the floor when He has laid a feast out on the table.

I have a little sign on my office corkboard that says, “I cannot further God’s kingdom if I’m caught up in my own.” This little reminder keeps me on track. If God is not first in my life, then every other thing I try to do is fruitless and meaningless. Instead of searching for your own answer, open your eyes today to all that God has in store for you. God doesn’t play games. He’s ready today to reveal wonders you could have never imagined…Are you ready to find them?

Oh, and just to let you know ~ Kenna found her doll.