Finding something usually first requires looking for it. Occasionally, in my life as a stay-at-home mom, I find things without actively searching for them; they just happen to be in my path. Other times, I find something for my children or husband within seconds of looking—or by telling them exactly where it is without leaving my location. I often tell my kids that looking means you might have to move or pick up other things to find the one thing missing.
In hide-and-seek, the seeker doesn’t stand still waiting for the hiders to show themselves. The seeker looks in every nook and cranny, obvious or improbable. An entire industry of games requires the player to find hidden objects or words. We will spend our time looking for Waldo or searching for the hidden picture at the doctor’s office.
Why, then, do we not diligently seek God?
We feel contentment sitting in a pew, listening to Christian music, and reading a verse of the day. We feel at peace accepting vague principles of truth. We feel good when we “go to church” or help others. Those things may be good, but simply being around the things of God is not the same as diligently seeking Him.
Scripture repeatedly connects seeking God with an intentional pursuit of Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Seeking God is not passive. Your pursuit of God is an intentional, deliberate, active search for truth. Sitting in the pew, listening to words, simply reading the Bible, or repeating spiritual mantras does not equate to seeking God and knowing Him. Seeking God is studying those words, acting on them, and believing them. The Word is alive and capable of transforming our lives, but only if we know the Word and the Writer.
How often in the Old Testament did the Israelites cry out, hopeless? At least as many times as they were told to return to God. How often in the New Testament did the first Christians face dire consequences for their faith? At least as many times as they were told to stand firm.
How often are we content with the bare minimum, the milk of Scripture, the icing of truth?
The words written to them still encourage us today. Our circumstances may look very different, but the living Word still speaks into our lives. Attending worship allows us to build relationships with and encourage other believers, to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ through the Lord’s Supper, to sing to one another, to give as we’ve been blessed, and to hear and study the Word.
Worship was never intended to make us passive observers of faith. Neither was the rest of the Christian life. If we want to know God, we must seek Him.
