Every believer in the God of the Bible has a challenge to remain earnestly seeking God.
In the Proverbs, the Wisdom of God is personified as a woman at the gates of the city, shouting to those who pass by and encouraging those who would seek the favor of God to come to her.
Proverbs 8:34-35 – Happy is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from Yahweh…
The waiting and watching has a continual emphasis; it’s as if the wisdom that comes from God is not something that can just be picked up in a Tik-Tok video or a smartly worded meme. It requires diligence and effort with an ongoing commitment to the truth, regardless of how long it takes.
King David famously expressed his deep desire and continual longing for God.
Psalm 63:1 – O God, thou art my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where no water is.
Hidden within the simple phrase, “I seek you” is the Hebrew root word shachar which means to painstakingly rise up early in the morning, earnestly seeking the fulfillment of a task. David likens this desire for God as a critical thirst which cannot be quenched, ever needing to be satisfied.
The prophet Isaiah similarly exemplified this shachar type of seeking as he strove to keep a connection with God through the watches of the night and into the dawn, implying an impassioned search while others slept.
Isaiah 26:9 – I long for you in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks you early, for when your judgments are in the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Isaiah adds that as he was to faithfully abide by God’s commands, they would become evident to others, and through his love and faithfulness the world would learn righteousness.
By contrast, the Psalmist illustrated how those among the unfaithful Israelites in the wilderness had not remained firm in their faith, and how they had forgotten the One who had delivered them from bondage.
Psalm 78:8, 36-37, 40-42 – … a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. … But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. … How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! They tested him again and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not keep in mind his power, or the day when he redeemed them from the foe…
Seeking after God is a continual process, and one that must be cultivated regularly and routinely in order to bear fruitful results. Truly seeking after God is a deep-rooted passion that is all-consuming. It cannot be quenched with a one-minute Bible lesson or a quick prayer for safety as one heads out the door. Any worthwhile relationship takes time to build and to nurture, and this must stem from hearts that yearn to be connected to each other.
- Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…
- Romans 5:5-6, 8 – …God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly. … But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Messiah died for us.
God has demonstrated his steadfast covenantal love and simply asks that believers return their love to him with equal and consistent passion.
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