In Heaven Itself

Psalm 89:2

I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

I’m not sure how many times, but the Bible reminds us over and over again to look at the heavens to be encouraged about the love of God.

Here again we are told that he establishes his faithfulness in heaven itself.  And that very fact should solidify the fact that his love for us is forever.

There’s not a morning that goes by when the sun doesn’t rise.

There’s not a night that arrives when the moon doesn’t shine.

There’s not a cloud in the sky that doesn’t appear and then leave.

There’s not a season that comes that doesn’t pass and come again.

Just look around you.  All of nature testifies to the greatness and love of God – toward you and toward me.

It's His

Psalm 74:16

The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon.

Are you worried about your day and how it’s going to play out, concerned about your meetings, your appointments, and your interactions with people?  It’s all in His hands.

Are you afraid of the dark, oppressed when the sun sets, alone and fearful of what lurks behind every shadow?  It’s all in his hands.

He established the sun to shine in the daytime.

He set the moon to shine at night.

Nothing escapes him.  Nothing.

Rest and be established in his order, his hand, and his wisdom.

Silence!

Psalm 8:2

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

This may be one of my favorite verses in the Bible!

Have you ever watched children praise and dance and sing?  They do so with a purity of heart, a spring in their step, and with hearts full!  And this verse says that even the praises of children establish a STRONGHOLD against enemies.

Are you depressed, despondent, distressed, in despair, and all of those other D-words, today?

Sing praises with your children.

Listen to children sing.

Observe children at play.

Join in the simple, pure pleasure of a child in the presence of his loving Father.

And see if the noise of defeat isn’t silenced and the enemy isn’t sent running back to the darkness from which he came…

Order in the Heavens

Job 25:2

Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

Job was a devout man of God, yet he was tested like no one before or after him.  He lost it all – health, family, possessions, friends – and he was tempted to curse God and die.

However, later in the book of Job he recounts the wonders of God in the heavens.  He acknowledges that the stars and the way they march out at night were too awesome for his understanding.  But there was ONE who was over all and in all.

That One is God.

Dominion and awe belong to him.

He establishes order – for the sun in the morning and the moon at night – for rain in due season and snow in the winter – he is up there…

And we are here…waiting.

Rest in the fact that God establishes the heavens, so he too can establish you.

A House

II Samuel 7:11

I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:

Do you sometimes feel like every day is a battle?  Maybe you’re ill and fighting for health.  Perhaps your kids are causing you all sorts of trouble and you feel as though you’re on the front lines of a war.  Or it could be that your marriage is like a boxing match, with a fight to the finish.

These things and our family are not our enemies.  But there is an enemy that seeks to destroy all that we love and hold dear.

God promises to fight for us and defeat frustration, illness, and turmoil.  We have to trust him and let go, and let him.

If your house feels shaky on its foundation, rest in Him.  cast all your cares on him, because he really does care for you.

And let him give you rest…and establish a house for you.

If You Keep

Deuteronomy 28:9

The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him.

The Lord requires that we obey him – which means we are to love him with all our hearts, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  It’s a simple command, yet full of awesome promise if we obey it.

When the Lord establishes us, nothing that comes our way can destroy us.  Nothing can overtake us. Nothing can steal from us.  We are securely fastened to the hip of God.

Many make promises to us and then forget, fail to come through, or just plain lie about what they will do.  And this is disappointing to us.

However, God never fails to come through.  We may think he’s late, but he sees eternity from his perspective and he asks that we trust his keen eye.

He will establish you…IF you keep his commands.

That’s a promise.

It Will Happen

Genesis 17:21

But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.

God made a promise to Abraham, stating he and his wife would have a son in their old age – a physical impossibility to them – but an easy gift from God.

And it came to pass, even though the couple grew weary and stepped in while waiting, and messed up – big time.

Once God establishes us in his Word, it’s a done deal.  

We don’t have to worry about the impossibility of it, because with HIM – all things are possible.

If you’re still waiting, don’t lose hope.  He’s a good, good father and keeps his promises – always and forever.

Established

Genesis 17:7

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

This is a “deal” so to speak that God made with Noah and his family when they obeyed, built the ark (at the ridicule of others), and weathered the storm.

God commits himself to us when we surrender to his word and obey his commands, and his “seal” is placed upon us so effectively and so securely that it lasts through generations!

That’s a true establishment!

We have visited old towns in the U.S. and have seen old buildings in bad need of repair, or ones that were completely destroyed through fire or other disaster.

But God’s foundation – the covenant – the promise – that he makes between himself and his people lasts forever.  He is our God. Period.

And nothing can change that.

Earnestly

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Have you ever seen the play or film The Importance of Being Earnest? If you haven’t, you should watch it – it’s hilarious!  But it’s not funny one bit when do not earnestly seek Him. Earnestly means to seek him with all of our hearts, in a sincere manner.

We must have faith in order to please God. Faith that he is who he said he is.

We must believe that he exists.  That’s crucial.

And we must also believe that he rewards us when we earnestly seek him.

What does seeking him without earnest look like?  It may look like just running to him every time we get hurt or are in trouble.  Oh, he takes us and holds us and loves us, regardless.  But when we seek him in ALL our ways, even in good times, preferring others above ourselves, and loving him with all our hearts, that’s an earnest seeking.

Pray and ask Him to help you be earnest in your seeking.

God loves it when we seek him, and he loves it even more to be found.

No Record

I Corinthians 13 – the love chapter – says this about love...

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Wow…I can get so easily angered at the drop of a hat sometimes. And I can recall a wrong in a flash, if I’m stirred up to do so.  So I realize that I am not yet made perfect in love.

I still have some “self-seeking” in me – want my own needs to be met – by others or things. 

It’s then we realize that self-seeking then results in dishonor, and that then causes riffs in relationships with others…and ultimately in our relationship with Him.

It’s hard to be perfect in love, that’s why we need to seek him.  And he will come, he will enable us to love selflessly and with abandon those who don’t even love us back.

It’s a process, learning to love like He does.  But we are free when we do, instead of harboring anger and accusations against those who annoy, hurt or irritate us.

I find that I have to ask daily, and sometimes multiple times a day, for his love to supersede my own ability to keep anger at bay.

Do you?

Others

I Corinthians 10 says

I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.  No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

These verses were referring to the discussion going on among the people about whether or not to eat meat offered to idols.  Today, maybe it might be a discussion about whether or not to drink alcohol, or other controversial activities that people squabble about as fellow believers.

The crux of the matter is to seek the good of others. 

If you know a friend is offended by an action you feel you can do with a clear conscience, then defer to your friend when that friend is near.  It’s not worth causing that friend to stumble in her walk with God.

I once had a friend who could not listen to secular music, because she used to get high  on drugs when doing so.  So for her, it was offensive.  It would be very selfish and rude of me to start insisting and persisting and accusing her of being “religious” and demanding that she listen, anyway.  There’s no profit in that.

Don’t always seek to be right. Seek the good of others, to the best of your ability.  You can be right when you’re alone away from your friend…

Why He Came

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Did you know our God is a seeker, as well?  That’s the whole reason he sent his son Jesus to the earth – to seek out the lost and save them.

What do we need to be saved from? 

Death.

Ourselves.

Destruction.

Need I say more?  Left on a course to seek our fleshly desires (fame, satisfaction, greed, lust, etc.) we will self-destruct our marriages, our children, and ultimately our own lives.

But Jesus is right there beside us, saying “Come to me” if we will just emerge from the dark and say, “I’m here!”  He will take us in his arms and completely encircle us in his love and bring us to the light to walk with him, forever.

That’s a pretty cool scene, isn’t it?

Open the door and let him in.  He loves you and seeks to be with you.

Seek n Find

Matthew 7 says

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

As a kid I learned this acronym A-S-K – ask, seek, knock.  We’re focusing on the seeking part of this passage.  It’s a promise that if we seek we will find.

Have you ever played “seek and find” as a kid?  Other kids hide, we call out “ready or not, here I come!” and we search for those hiding.  Once we find them, we squeal with delight, as it then becomes our turn to hide.  There’s this great thrill that comes from seeking…and then finding.

God isn’t telling us to seek him because he’s hiding in the dark somewhere.  He’s telling us to seek him because he has the words of life, he is the breath of life, he is the giver of life.  And he promises that if we seek him, he will be found, and he will actually delight in the finding.  

And so will you.

The one who seeks finds.

It’s that simple.

First

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This may be one of the most recognized verses in the bible, yet it may be one of the most ignored ones, as well.

We don’t mean to ignore it, but we get caught up in seeking prestige in our jobs, for a mate that will satisfy all of our needs, for a house that will make us the envy of friends, and for honor so that we feel good about ourselves.  And when we seek in those ways, we will always be disappointed.

This verse says to seek him – and then “these things” (food, clothing, shelter) will be ours.  It only works in that order.

God has an order to life.  He is to be first. Not because he’s mean or a dictator or any such thing.  It’s because he knows that in him is life, and he wants us to live.  

There is no other way, apart from seeking him, to enjoy the fullness of life as we were created to enjoy it.

First

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This may be one of the most recognized verses in the bible, yet it may be one of the most ignored ones, as well.

We don’t mean to ignore it, but we get caught up in seeking prestige in our jobs, for a mate that will satisfy all of our needs, for a house that will make us the envy of friends, and for honor so that we feel good about ourselves.  And when we seek in those ways, we will always be disappointed.

This verse says to seek him – and then “these things” (food, clothing, shelter) will be ours.  It only works in that order.

God has an order to life.  He is to be first. Not because he’s mean or a dictator or any such thing.  It’s because he knows that in him is life, and he wants us to live.  

There is no other way, apart from seeking him, to enjoy the fullness of life as we were created to enjoy it.

...and Live

In Amos 5:4 and again in 5:14 we are told this:

This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live;

There really is no living without seeking Him.  Everything we do or accomplish will eventually meet its death.  But those who seek the Lord have this inheritance that flows down for generations!

When we seek him, our children receive the blessings that come from a life lived for God.

When we seek him, we experience freedom over addictions and other bad habits, and this in turns seeps down on those in our household.

When we seek him, we do not die -  but we live eternally  with Him – with no more tears!

We’ve been writing about seeking the Lord for days now, and all that means is reading his word, listening to his voice, and doing what he says – acknowledging his ways and walking in them.

It sounds simple, and it should be.  But it’s not.  So pray that the Holy Spirit will help you in your seeking, so that you seek Him first.

It's Time!

Hosea 10:12

Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

I’m planting flowers in my pots and yard today, and I really love doing it. I have to clean out the old, break up the soil, be careful with the roots, and plant according to instructions…if I want to find flowers blooming, and not wilted and tilted plants, in a few weeks.

Seeking the Lord is sort of like preparing your herb boxes or your gardens – there’s some preparation that has to take place so that the seed can germinate and grow.

To do this, we must read his Word so that we know the truth about who He is – not what others have told us.  We have to search our hearts at times to make sure there aren’t weeds of unbelief growing that choke out the truth.  That’s called seeking Him…

And then when the showers come, things grow, flowers bloom, and beauty takes place.

That’s the way it works – isn’t it beautiful?

All In?

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Is it possible to seek God with only part of our heart?  Sure it is.

We all have hidden rooms of our hearts that we don’t want the Lord to enter – like hurts at parents and spouses – like anger at bosses and friends – like attitudes we’d rather hold onto than let go.

God always requires all of us – not part of us.  It’s because he is our Creator, he is our Lord, and he wants us to seek him with ALL that we have.

It’s scary to surrender our entire being to any person, especially if we’ve been stepped on, abused, or abandoned.  We do not want to feel hurt again.  That makes perfect sense.

However, God is the healer, not the destroyer, when we seek him with all our heart.  He is the comforter, not the accuser, when we come to him in complete surrender.

It’s hard to wrap our minds around such a concept, but it’s true.  God is love.  And when we completely surrender in seeking his affirmation and allow him to search and enter every room in our heart, it’s then that we can feel safe and secure and settled.

And only then.

Woe...

Isaiah 31:1

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.

Relying on Egypt, horses, chariots and horsemen isn’t part of our lives, but I’ve seen it on the big screen for sure. But for us today, it might be those who look back to their past, rely on jobs, friends, or material possessions.  It seems the more we amass things and puff up what we’ve accomplished in our own power, the more haughty we become.

This is a strong warning to NOT rely and trust in these things.  Why?

Because they will fail, every time….

We must seek help from the Lord, we must rely on his word, and his mercy, and look to Him for all sustenance and identity.

It’s only then that when war and oppression comes, we realize that the battle is his, not ours, and that we are the winner, not the loser.

Learn It

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

There are so many young adults doing these things listed above – at least 3/5ths of that list. Seek ing justice is a great thing, as well as defending the oppressed.  Taking up the cause of the orphans is a great, as well.

But we all need to make sure we take care of the two things that bookend those great activities.

Learning to do right isn’t found by doing what WE “feel” is right – it’s reading his word and obeying it to the best of our ability – to love God with all our hearts and others as ourselves.

Pleading the cause of the widow – I’m not even sure what that means – but it seems to me that most widows I know are lonely and need a lot more attention than we’re giving them.

This is a great verse…but it begins with doing what is right.  And it says to “learn it.”  And learning comes from reading his word, and doing it comes from obedience.

I have a lot yet to learn…do you?

Strayed & Lost

Psalm 119:176

I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

After reading yesterday’s verse, this one goes alongside it.

This is a prayer to God, asking Him to come after David because he has strayed.  He wants his faithful Shepherd to find him, even in his straying.

David knew the job of shepherd, and that was to guide dumb sheep to keep them from falling off of cliffs, because they were prone to wander.

He knew that he was prone to wander, as well, but he also knew that God loved him and was devoted to him as the Good Shepherd who seeks after every one of his sheep.

Don’t ever lose hope or think that God has abandoned you or left you alone in the dark forest with predators all around.

In fact, he has prepared a table there for you to come and eat…with Him.

Ask and receive gladly the loving care of your faithful shepherd…when you are prone to wander.

Eagerly Turned

Psalm 78:34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.

An interesting verse, right? 

There is much controversy over whether or not  God causes disasters and hard times, because if he’s loving he won’t do that…or will he?

This I know.  God never causes anything unless it will bring about an amazing good thing when it’s done.  In other words, when something disastrous happens, he has promised to make things work together for good - but only if we seek him.

When huge natural disasters or tragedies take place in our nation, people begin showing up in churches, falling to their knees and seeking God for peace and understanding and hope.

He gives it.  And time passes, and lands and people heal, and we forget him again.

He knows that unless we are seeking his face, we won’t be satisfied or whole or complete, so as a loving Father he prods us – like a shepherd does his sheep – toward green pastures and still waters.

Even if we have to walk through a dark valley to get there.

Eagerly turn to him.  today…and always.

Pursue It

Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

I find it so interesting in all of these verses over the past few days about seeking God that we do have to get up, walk toward, and search out who God is.  It’s then that he will reveal himself to us.

Think about a relationship.  Unless each person is seeking to know the other, relationship doesn’t happen.  In other words, just hearing about each other, looking at each other, and even gazing at each other’s beauty doesn’t create a bond.  Knowing each other does.

This verse is full of action.

We must depart

We must do

We must seek

We must pursue

God’s gift of salvation is free for the asking and believing, but walking with Him and growing in fellowship with him requires departing evil ways, doing good, seeking after peace, and actually running after it.

Whatever we desire, that will we run after.

Double Seeking

Psalm 24:6

This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah.

A couple of days ago, the devo we shared encouraged you to pray for your children to seek the Lord, to know Him, and to believe that God will come to them in a powerful way.

This verse declares it to be so (Selah means “so be it.”) 

This generation – the one full of “snowflakes” as some like to call them – is one that God is calling out to seek his face.

This generation – the one full of millennials who are self-absorbed and mistrusting of government and all authority – is the one we can declare will be full of seekers of God.

God has promised that when we seek him with all of our hearts, we will find him.

Pray for your children and the children after them, that they will hunger and thirst for righteousness and will seek for it in the one who is Holy.

Know Him

Psalm 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Do you know his name?

His name is power, love, and mercy.

In his name is hope, security, healing and restoration.

Do you know his name?

His name is Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace.

His name is the name you carry, when you belong to him.

If we really, really know his name, we will put our trust in Him and seek him daily, moment by moment, as we walk with him and experience his presence with us.

If you’re having trouble trusting in God, maybe you don’t really know his name.  Read about Jesus and who he is.  Start with the book of John in the New Testament.  Read about his relationship with his Father, and his love for all of mankind.

Then, and only then, will trust arise in your heart and you will then seek Him…always.

Still a Youth

II Chronicles 34:3

For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images.

This is referring to a young king who sought God and “purged” evil and adolatry from the kingdom over which he ruled.

Sometimes, we think our children won’t really follow after Christ until they become an adult, sow their wild oats, and experience “life” a bit…and then they will come crawling to Him in sorrow and with gaping wounds.

It doesn’t have to be that way.  Our children can experience the presence of God, his love, and his amazing friendship with them from an early age.  We can pray for it, expect it, and cultivate it.

Our children can then hear God and walk with him in holiness and purity, from a very young age.

Pray for this.  Expect it.  And then watch your children start to seek the Lord, and be amazed.

  

Set to Seek

II Chronicles 12:14

He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

This verse is referring to a king in the Bible that did not follow the Lord, but rather turned away from His word and commands.

We are going to following and serve and worship something, because we were created to be worshipful beings.  And because we live in a fleshly body, we won’t automatically just turn to God and seek Him. 

This verse says because he didn’t “set his heart” to seek the Lord…he did evil.

We may think others do evil things in this world, and we would never do such things.  However, if go very many days without seeking the Lord and focusing on His ways and His thoughts, we will eventually find ourselves thinking evil things…and plotting evil schemes.

An example might be if we’ve been offended, and we fail to seek Him regarding that offense, and we start planning ways of revenge to “get back” at that person.  That’s evil.

We must set our hearts to seek the Lord, so that we don’t do evil things.

We are not exempt from evil thoughts and ways...unless we seek Him, and then we hear his voice and follow him, instead of being drawn to evil.  And when we follow Him, everything evil just flees away, because we serve a Holy God.

Hear and Heal

II Chronicles 7:14…and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

This verse is very well known and recited often, when people become alarmed and disturbed at the state of things in our world.  And sometimes, we are moved to pray earnestly and hard and with fervor, for our world and where it seems to be headed…far away from God.

And then we lose fervor, back off, and forget to pray when things are going well.  That’s just the way we often work, as humans, and as we experience life’s ups and downs.

But we need to remind ourselves of this directive and this promise, and never discount the power of obeying His word by praying, in humility, to see our land experience healing of all kind…

Seeking his face can look like prayer on our knees, reading his word, and praising his name and declaring his faithfulness…so it’s something we can do all day, every day, as we live for Him and express our love for Him.

Seek Him.

And see what happens.