“Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” - Isaiah 55:6
Is it even imaginable that at some point in time in the history of the world, that God would not be able to be found? Or that on some unannounced date in the future the Lord would withdraw His nearness to humanity? Especially in light of the fact that Paul in Acts 17:27 asserts that God desires to be found by sinners, and that He is not far from any of us. A glance at the cross of Jesus is an unmistakable indication that God has sought to do any and everything in His power to show Himself approachable. A friend of the human race. A savior and a helper. A guide and a mentor. He is ever present. And yet, Isaiah’s perspective cannot be dismissed or refuted. So why then does His invitation seem to have a shelf life?
Maybe because we are not necessarily in any rush to seek God. It usually takes some tragic event or brush with death to awaken our sleepy souls. A sickness, a loss, a failure, a threat of any kind, these things make men wish for God. When a man or woman reaches the end of themselves, when they are faced with the limits of their own intelligence or powers, they look up. If it were up to the human race, God would have to wait eons for us to get us to turn to Him. And while He does have eons and infinite time to spare, we do not.
A few other thoughts. Most people are chronic procrastinators. Waiting until the last minute to do things that should have been done days or hours ago. We also get very distracted. We think, “I’ll seek God today”, but then our phone buzzes or we remember that we forgot to put bananas on the grocery list, and the zeal to feel close to God dissipates into thin air. Another thing, we all have an expiration date just a like a carton of milk or a bag of chips. Eventually we will lose our vitality and ultimately our lives. It is a sad inevitability. And because there is no actual expiration date punched on our foreheads, we never know when that fateful moment will come. All the more reason to start the search for God now, to call upon Him while He is close by. And not just merely one time. Once is never enough. The search for God is a daily discovery. For there is always more of God to discover. And sometimes, we have gone far from the Lord. We have left Him behind…and it could take days or weeks to recover the ground. Remember Mary and Joseph and their abandonment of Jesus in the temple? Yeah, God is not always found so quickly and easily. That is why the operative word is “seek”.
When I play hide and seek with my kids they occasionally have a hard time finding me. The house is not that big, but I have great hiding places and I am smarter than they are (at least for now). Sometimes they complain to their mom that I cannot be found. They call my name over and over. I hear the commotion, but I stay hidden. I let them work and think. This trains their muscles, tests their persistence, and increases their ability to problem solve. I think God does the same thing. He can pop out of hiding at anytime for a full reveal. But He does not. He trains us, pushes us, tests us, and develops our ability to solve mankind’s greatest problem…finding God.
To summarize, we only get a short time on this earth to live. We are prone to putting off for later that which we ought to do now. We have a tendency to get diverted from things that are most important and that should be prioritized. Eventually our existence will be cut short…though we were meant to live forever. We must not lose our curiosity for spiritual things. Be curious, discover God today, seek Him, go after Him. Call out to Him. He wants to be found…
This Sabbath, Pastor Anil Kanda (Youth and Young Adult Director for the Central California Conference), will be with us to share the Word of God. Anil is a good friend and a tremendous speaker. He is also the host of Hope @ Night, a TV program that airs on the Hope Channel.
Looking forward to worshiping with you all and hearing what God will say through Pastor Kanda. Blessings!