SEEKING GOD: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

Introduction

Last time we concluded that the mandate to seek God with our whole heart means that we love Him with our whole heart... And, if our heart is also pure, everything we do in life should be done out of our love for God. Loving God, however, is not the only thing we should be doing with our whole heart. We are also instructed to wholeheartedly obey God and observe His commands (Dt 26:16, 30:2, 30:10).

Futile Fasters & Sham Seekers

At this point you may be wondering, “What does obedience have to do with seeking God?” I will answer with the words of Isaiah (58:1-2): “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.”

     What do you think this passage of Scripture is telling us about seeking God? It think it is saying that we can't truly seek God without also seeking to be obedient to His will. Jesus also speaks about this issue in John 14:21,23-24: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him... If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” Selah... (Pause and contemplate that!!)

     Therefore, in order to seek God with our whole heart—meaning that our motivation for seeking Him is that we love Him—we must also strive to follow His commands. If we “seek God,” but knowingly live a life contrary to His character, then we are really only seeking God in pretense (see Jer 3). We may seem eager to know God, but if, by our actions, we deny Him (see Titus 1:16), then we are not really seeking God for who He is, but rather for who we wish Him to be—and we are re-imagining Him in our own image instead of acknowledging that we were created to be like Him.

Pharisees & Sinners

When the Pharisees questioned why Jesus ate with tax collectors and “sinners,” He replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Mt 9:10-12). Was Jesus saying that these “tax collectors and sinners” were sick and the Jewish leaders were just fine? How did Jesus describe the Jewish leaders of His day? This is how he spoke to them: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Mt 23:27-28). From this statement, it's clear that Jesus was not suggesting that the Jewish leaders were spiritually healthy. We also know this from Romans 3:23, which tells us that all mankind has sinned and has, thus, fallen short of the glory of God. What Jesus meant, then, was that only those who recognize their sinful condition will see their need for the healing that He provides. The Pharisees were just as sick as the rest of the people, but their hypocrisy and pride prevented them from admitting it.

     So, what is the lesson for those who truly wish to seek God? Our seeking is faulty—and our “love” for God, fake—if we are not concerned with obedience. But, even if our heart's desire lines up with God's will, we are all still afflicted with the sinful human condition and are all in need of His forgiveness. Therefore, the precursor to seeking God is repentance (Mt 3:2)—an acknowledgment of our sins, and a turning or returning to God's ways (Dt 4:30, 30:10, Jer 18:11, Joel 2:12). And “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen! (From Psalm 139:23-24.)