Passionately Seeking the God of the Bible
When we passionately seek God, it radically transforms us.
And the enemy knows it. So he uses the world’s distractions to keep us from God.
It boils down to a constant spiritual struggle.
Like how living in this world clashes with not being of this world. Or, the ongoing battle between our flesh and spirit. Also, the conflict between our old self and our new self in Christ.
These struggles put us at risk of distractions that pull us away from seeking God. Instead, we look to our own desires and what the world has to offer.
But it’s nothing new.
Throughout the history of the world, the history of God’s people, and the history of the Bible, the choice always stood in place. Either seeking after God or seeking something else.
Throughout the history of the world, the history of God’s people, and the history of the Bible, the choice always stood in place. Either seeking after God or seeking something else. #SeekTheLORD Share on XAnd “something else” includes everything from people and things to idols and self-worship to fame and fortune.
Look at Romans 3:10-11, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” (ESV)
Still, Acts 17 reminds us how God made the world and everything in it. Futhermore, He made all mankind to live on the earth. Why?
“That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” (Verses 27-28, ESV)
So how does the Bible describe seeking God?
Seeking God for who He is.
“The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” Psalm 14:2 (ESV)
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
Passionately seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness.
Jesus said not to be anxious about food or clothes… “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
Seeking God’s counsel.
Instead of relying on our own wisdom or the opinions of others, we ask the Lord first.
Like when the king of Israel wanted to go into battle, the king of Judah advised, “But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, ‘First seek the counsel of the Lord.’” 1 Kings 22:5 (NIV)
Passionately seeking God with a whole heart.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Psalm 119:10 (ESV)
Seeking God’s presence.
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
Passionately seeking God’s face in prayer.
“If 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
Seeking God earnestly.
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (ESV)
A prayer of seeking.
Lord, help me in seeking Your kingdom and righteousness above the things of this world. Create in me a whole heart, seeking Your presence and face over the idols of this world. Help my soul thirst for seeking You and not fall for what the world offers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lord, help me in seeking Your kingdom and righteousness above the things of this world. Create in me a whole heart, seeking Your presence and face over the idols of this world. #SeekTheLORD Share on X
What ways would you like to work on in seeking the Lord? What would you add?
More on Acts 17, How to Live and Move with God in 2021.
Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Legacy Linkup/Inspire Me Monday/Tell His Story/Purposeful Faith/Recharge Wednesday/Tune in Thursday/Heart Encouragement/Embracing the Unexpected/Candidly Christian and Faith On Fire.
© 2021 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
We need to seek and serve the Lord above all else, Karen, especially in these troubled and trying times. Yes, it’s all too easy to get distracted by things of the world when we know we shouldn’t. May God help us all to completely focus upon and trust in Him.
Blessings!
Martha, there really isn’t a better time than now to passionately seek the Lord with all our heart! “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
Doesn’t the greatest blessings come when we find Him Ms. Karen? Oh, how I love this post ma’am. To live Coram Deo; to know He is always there whenever and wherever we seek Him. Oh what joy! God’s blessings ma’am.
Yes, J.D. Finding Him when we passionately seek Him is the greatest reward of all! The other blessings are the overflow…what makes our cups run over!
I love the verses in Jeremiah 29:13-14. God gives a promise in verse 11, but that promise comes with an action on our part…When you seek me with your whole heart, I will be found by you. Thank you for sharing!
Stephanie, we often forget while God’s love is unconditional, many of His promises in the Bible are only fulfilled after we meet a condition. When you _______, then I’ll __________. As you so beautifully point out here, “When you seek me with your whole heart, I will be found by you. “
Beautiful reminder of where to put our focus. Thank you for the helpful verses.
Appreciate you commenting, Janice. “If 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
Karen,
Your posts always point me to focus on God! The only thing I would add is seeking God within the community of fellow believers. We desperately need each other, especially during these times. “Iron sharpenes iron..”
Blessings, sweet sister!
Beckie, I like your addition of seeking God within community of other believers. Then, we build each other up in the faith, and yes, iron sharpens iron. Thank you for your comment!
An uplifting post that aims our hearts toward the Lord, Karen! The inclusion of these encouraging verses and the prayer makes this a go-to post for times when we need to refocus, when we recognize that we haven’t been seeking the Lord’s Person, but rather going through the outward motions of our Christianity without allowing Jesus’ Spirit to touch our hearts. Very applicable, sister! Thank you!
Thank you, Melinda. All of us have had seasons where we just went through the motions with no inward substance due to our lack of seeking after the Almighty. I pray we seek Him with a whole heart! “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)
Once again, your words offer so much hope. I want to seek the Lord with this kind of abandonment. I prayed the prayer in hope to have a heart the seeks the Lord first. Thanks Karen.
Agree, Yvonne, seeking Him with complete abandonment, ignoring choices of the world’s stuff and distractions!
While reading your message, I began singing, “Seek Ye First”. I pray I will seek His kingdom in every moment.
Yes, great song, Melissa. Jesus said not to be anxious about food or clothes… “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
Thank you for these reminders as to how to maintain my priorities!
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Psalm 119:10 (ESV)
Right now, I’m seeking God’s counsel for an important decision, Karen. It’s great to know I have the God of the universe who can help me make the right choice! Love your words here today, Karen! Always so inspiring to take stock of how we can seek and find Him!
Hi Beth, I’ll be praying over your decision and God’s counsel and wisdom to become very real in your situation. May we ‘First seek the counsel of the Lord.’” 1 Kings 22:5b (NIV)
sharing your words on twitter! I love your heart for the Word and this post is a beautiful reminder of refocusing my heart. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much, Mariel! Your comment blessed me. I pray to continue to not only be a lover of words, but a lover of God’s Word!
Amen, Karen! Ask God FIRST!! So good.
Jessica, it’s so easy to rely on our own wisdom, ask others or Google it! If we only grasped how God’s wisdom and counsel is above all!
So true, Karen! “When we passionately seek God, it radically transforms us.” Great Scripture verses. Thanks for the encouragement!
Hey Lisa, seeking God can’t help but change us as we spend time in His presence and Word and prayer. Lord, help us thirst for You!
I love this! YES YES and AMEN. God can radically change everything and refine us to become so much more than we could ever accomplish on our own. I hunger from His Word and because of it—He had me recently publish a study to encourage others to digest Scripture. Thank you for your posting.
Congratulations, Genna. To God be the glory for your study being published and your kingdom work in encouring others!
Hallelujah and Maranatha And Amen-Amein Sister in Jesus-Yeshua Christ-Messiah Karen!! “PREACH HIS WORD in SEASON and out of SEASON!!
GOD BLESS ALL my Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus-Yeshua and my Messianic Jewish Sisters and Brothers in Christ-Messiah Jesus-Yeshua and my Devout Jewish Sisters and Brothers and Your Families and Friends!!
I am Pro-Israel-Yisrael / Pro-Christian and Jewish People who STAND with the Holy Land of Israel-Yisrael and our Judeo-Christian Nation United States of America / Pro-Zionism / PRO-LIFE!!
( Psalm 129:5 KJV ) “Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.”!! ~> ( https://kristiann1.com/2016/03/16/pfiy/ ) UPDATED!!
Please Pray for Israel-Yisrael / Christian Nation United States of America, and our Christian Earth Everyday “Pray Without Ceasing.” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV )!!
( Psalms 33:12 KJV ) “Blessed is the Nation whose GOD is the LORD; and the People whom HE hath Chosen for HIS Own Inheritance.”!!
Our ONE True GOD’S LOVE 💕💜 is ETERNAL THROUGH HIS SON Christ-MESSIAH Jesus-Yeshua for Today and Everyday Forevermore!!
I Love you all Everyone through Christ-MESSIAH Jesus-Yeshua, because HE LOVED ❤ 💕 EVERYONE FIRST!!
Love 💕 Always and Shalom ( Peace ), YSIC \o/
Kristi Ann
Thank you, Kristi Ann. Lord, help me in seeking Your kingdom and righteousness above the things of this world. Create in me a whole heart, seeking Your presence and face over the idols of this world. Help my soul thirst for seeking You and not fall for what the world offers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Seeking Him first, denying distractions, refocusing our hearts…YES! Beautiful reminders and Scriptures. Thanks, Karen. Blessings
Karen, love how you said “denying distractions.” It’s part of us denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily!
Karen, this teaching is so important, so needed, time and time again. How we do wage war daily – spirit vs. flesh. Each day, we turn to Jesus again. I love how you walked us through this teaching with scripture truth. I can’t wait for the day when there are no distractions or idols in my life, just our Savior in all his glory.
Hey Melissa, yes, dear friend, we trun to Jesus AGAIN every day. It’s a choice we have daily. Choose Jesus or choose something else to seek.
There’s plenty to keep us occupied, isn’t there? May we continually seek Him with our whole hearts.
There sure is! The world presents so many options. I’m just glad the #1 option at the top of the list for God’s people is Him!
Karen,
Instead of seeking results or outcomes, we need to seek God first and then let Him take care of the future. We can’t change the future, but we can change our focus. Great truth here to remind me of this.
Blessings,
Bev xx
Hi Bev, wise and true words. Thanks for sharing your insight with us! “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
Wow, let me just say how much I appreciate your willingness to let God be who he defines himself to be. Our right response is worship and obedience — not a re-creation of God in our own image.
Yes, Michele, may we passionately seek the God of the Bible…with all we have and how the Word tells us to.
Karen, I know I struggle with being distracted by the world’s allures and things that draw the eye. My sons (and their generation) live in a world where distractions are on steroids. I have found myself praying that they would grow to have hearts that seek the Lord. I am copying these verses to pray over them and myself.
“Distractions on steroids”, yes, Jeanne! Sadly, that’s true in this modern technology age. Now, maybe more than ever, we need to pray for ourselves and our children and family!
[…] always intended for us to desire and seek Him as we discussed last […]
I am often seeking God’s purpose – mostly in apologetics, to no surprise. God has called me to take on the non-believer, the skeptic, the angry atheist. Oh it is so hard at times, but this is where God has me. So yeah… I seek His purpose in those circles. Thanks, Karen, for such a good example of one who does seek God in all she does! You are a godly woman.
So kind of you to say, Lisa. I always enjoy your insight and writings on apologetics. It helps us, your fellow-believers, know how to address questions and deal with the skeptics/atheists in our lives and families.