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Seeking The Lord

             Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

                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. (Hebrews 11:6)

                God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. Why should we have to seek Him? How can we not call on Him while He’s near, since He’s always near? Of course, when you get absorbed in a book, you can be physically present with someone, but also be a million miles away. Or when you’re angry with someone, you may be in the same household, but you’re distant. Parents may “stand back” and allow a child to struggle. They seem to be distancing themselves from the child, but it teaches the child things the child needs to know. Not all distance is of the same sort. Two people can grow apart while sharing a bed.

                Another aspect of seeking God while He may be found is that if a person doesn’t seek Him when they are of the right frame of soul, they may not be able to find Him even if He is “right there.” This was one of the problems the Pharisees had in the First Century. Jesus performed miracles and fit the prophecies, but they couldn’t see Him. The Israelites who left Egypt had the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, and the fire on Mt. Sinai, but insisted that Aaron built an idol for them.

                I do not suggest that God never (or can’t) make His presence known whenever He wants. But it’s terribly difficult to find something that’s in the kitchen if one refuses to look in the kitchen. God can be found most easily by someone who is humble, patient, persistent, open-minded, and honest. We should seek God when those characteristics describe us. Otherwise, we’re closing our eyes, sticking our fingers in our ears and shouting “Nya, nya, nya, I can’t hear you!” then blaming God because we can'f find Him.

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