Sometimes life can be annoying. It’s not that we are facing some major trial or anything. It’s just that things aren’t going our way. The weather isn’t cooperating with our plans; someone says something hurtful to us; we have to do something we just didn’t want to do; sickness comes at the worst possible time… these kinds of things can be so frustrating!

And, the truth of the matter is: We show our character by how we respond.

Each one of these little, seemingly insignificant, events are not random things that have happened but are allowed by God very specifically, giving us the opportunity to practice a right response as His growing child. Each one gives us the opportunity to practice surrendering our will to God’s; to respond with joy rather than a complaining heart; to trust that God will work all things out for His glory and our good.

We also get many other opportunities to grow in these “unimportant” happenings that we experience each and every day. Opportunities to practice humility and patience and rejoicing and forgiving others; to learn to be diligent rather than lazy; to choose not be so offended all the time; to love our enemies; to turn from envy and choose contentment. God uses the random circumstances of our lives to shape and mold us into His image. They aren’t random at all.

Have you noticed that we tend to have our default response to these “little” events in our lives and very rarely examine our responses?

But how we respond to these little things prepare us for how we will respond in the big ones. Oswald Chambers puts this so succinctly—

The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.

If we are proud now in the little things, then pride will be our response when it really counts and can potentially destroy a relationship. But if we learn to be humble now, then that will be our response when the cost of a prideful response is so terribly high.

Or another example: If we can train ourselves, by the Holy Spirit, not to complain in the little things, then as we age and life becomes filled with aches and pains and unexpected challenges, we will have already learned to respond correctly. We will have learned that complaining doesn’t help a thing but that it will turn us into grumpy old men and women that no one wants to be around.

God has allowed all things in our lives for a purpose. We are reminded of this in these well-known verses—

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:28-29)

Let’s remember some important facts that we find in these verses. First, this promise is only to those who love God. This is for the redeemed child of God and not for the unredeemed. We cannot assure that unsaved friend that God is working all things out for their good because God never promises that in His Word.

Second, we know from these verses that God’s ultimate goal for us is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. This being the case then gives us insight into why certain things are allowed. Notice that God’s goal for His children is not ease of life or popularity or good health or lots of money. No, it’s one thing: To be like Christ. Every single thing that comes into our lives gives us an opportunity to respond like Christ or to respond in the flesh. Each little thing gives us a choice. If we look at it from this perspective, then every random circumstance takes on more significance, doesn’t it?

Oh to remember that each little thing is ordained by God and, as such, has a purpose. We are (at least I am) simply too quick to complain and to wonder “why me” and to rebel against what God has allowed, instead of remembering the above verses and God’s eternal purpose for me.

But we can change. We can learn to respond as scripture encourages. We can—and we should—be growing in the fruits of the Spirit.

As we respond to each seemingly random happening, we are given the wonderful opportunity to grow in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith (Galatians 5:22-23).

But a key to growth is to leave our status quo, default responses and to really think about what we are doing. No easy task in a world where life is busy and distractions come at us 24/7.

Maybe a first step for us all is to put down our phones, turn off our tvs or music, and just really give ourselves time to reflect, study scripture, and pray. If don’t give ourselves time to do this, then right response is unlikely, for we have nothing to draw from.

So may we all remember today that the random event that is causing us so much frustration or discontentment is not random at all but given to us by our loving Heavenly Father who desires that we be conformed to the Image of His Son.

Many years ago, while in high school, I was with two friends and we were talking about what it meant to be saved. One of us was living a very worldly life, devoid of any spiritual fruit or desire to walk with God. I had been trying to share the Gospel with him. As we talked, he mentioned that he had been baptized as an infant. Upon that statement, my other friend suddenly piped up with passion that he was definitely saved then!

I can still remember the bewilderment I felt when my Christian friend (or so I thought) made this declaration. Our other friend went on to live his life (I have no idea where he is now) with the belief that baptism had saved him and he could live his life however he wanted, assured he had his “golden ticket” to heaven.

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Octavius Winslow (1808-1878) does not mince words when it comes to this lie from our enemy—

We do not hesitate to pronounce the doctrine of “baptismal regeneration” to be the paramount lie of Satan–the most subtle and fatal weapon which this arch foe of our race ever forged for the destruction of men’s souls in eternal perdition!

Do not build your hope of glory, upon your baptism.
You are lost to all eternity if you do.
You must be born again if ever you enter the kingdom of Heaven.

If you plunge into eternity clutching the airy fiction, the fatal notion that you passed from spiritual death into spiritual life in your baptism; that in baptism you were regenerated, adopted, justified, made holy and saved–then you have staked your eternal happiness upon the most fatal lie!

In many instances, the unhappy victim of this delusion passes away, undeceived until the deception is too late to rectify!

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Any time that we are told we can have salvation without transformation, we can be sure it’s of the devil. You see, Satan caters to our fleshly demands. We want our cake and to eat it, too and so he has cleverly provided a way that deceives us into thinking we can have both a love for self and a love for God.

Those who are deceived by this lie are deceived because they aren’t really interested in Jesus (other than as perhaps an example and a buddy) but they are interested in going to heaven when they die (because we all know down deep inside that there is an afterlife). And so baptismal regeneration assures us that we can live for self and still get that ticket to heaven.

Through this lie, they are assured that they can continue living the life they want to live; to watch and listen to and read what they want to without concern for anyone but self. They believe they can choose their own path and chase after their own dreams, without concern for the will of God. In fact, some take this to a whole other level, calling for the blessing and miraculous intervention of God in their selfish pursuits, praying and treating Him like their personal genie in the sky whom they can manipulate to do their will (such sacrilege!)

But the very nature of true, biblical salvation is that all of this just naturally changes after we are saved. God takes our selfish hard heart of stone and turns it into a heart that beats for Him. Oh, we aren’t instantly living for God without regard for self. But we become aware that we must decrease and God must increase (John 3:30). We become spiritually alive and begin a journey of sanctification that continues our whole lives. Our conviction of sin changes and stems from our love for our Lord rather than from an outward moral code.

We don’t change in this way in order to be saved, we change because we are saved.

No work —including baptism—will ever be able to accomplish that supernatural change of the heart that only God, through the Holy Spirit, accomplishes in the one who seeks Him and turns to Christ alone for salvation.

So, yes, we must conclude that baptism does not save. This is a lie that has led many to believe they are headed for glory when they, according to scripture, clearly are not. Oh, the terrible deception!

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For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

(John 3:16-19)

I looked down over my railing to see a single bright pink bloom on a hydrangea that is full of fading blossoms. Weeks before this shrub had been filled with these bright pink blossoms but they slowly started to fade away until only dying blossoms remained.

(Now, personally, I almost love the faded hydrangeas more than the bright pink ones, but there is an analogy here so let’s forget that for a moment…!)

Yesterday my husband and I attended yet another funeral. This one was especially difficult (to say the least) because we were saying goodbye to a wonderful friend who we’ve known for many, many years and knew the road ahead without him will be so very hard for his family. I think we have figured out that this is the seventh funeral we’ve been to in 2024. Some of which have been for people we have loved dearly.

Yesterday, as I was processing and thinking about all of this, my son came in to the house. I started crying because it just feels like the world can’t go on without these dear friends we have loved. And yet it does. It just continues on.

My son said, “Well, what the Bible says really is true. We are just a vapor.”

And I had to look up that verse in James 4 (vs. 14)—

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

I’ve been reflecting on this verse. Life is but a vapor. So it’s important that we consider what really matters…

I am going to be really honest now. As you know, one of the ways I process things is to write about them. And I have shared many of my own personal struggles with you all through the years. I am not looking for praise or encouragement this morning. I am just being flat-out honest with you and sharing with you an important lesson that God continues to teach me.

You see, in the midst of all of this death and through a good bit of this year, I have struggled with my calling. It seems almost unimportant in the midst of so much pain and hurt and life-altering changes in the lives of so many families that I care about. Am I really doing what I am supposed to be doing?

But then I saw that bloom. And I realized. When it comes right down to it, is there anything more important we can do than point people to God and His Word?

A waning interest, a dying passion, an apathetic and disinterested church doesn’t change that.

I read a quote by someone the other day who said they were writing a specific book because, while they knew it would never be wildly popular, they did know there were some who needed the encouragement that would be within its pages.

I have to confess that her words really resonated with me because I, too, knew that my Learn to Discern book would hold little interest for a worldly church. But I went forward with it because I hope that God has used it in someone’s life to draw them into a deeper walk with Him.

I saw a quote this morning that talked about how important that we remember that all glory belongs to God. As soon as we are searching for our own glory, we have lost much of our effectiveness for God’s plans and purposes.

We believers know this is true in theory. But the desire for God’s glory with no interest in our own glory is an arduous journey for most of us. As in so many other areas, we know the truth and we want to live out the truth, but to actually do this is a struggle.

But what a reminder all of this death has been to me personally that our own glory is irrelevant in the scope of life. I am but a vapor, as are you. Only what’s done for Christ will last.

And through this past year, God has been reminding me that one of the main things we can do as believers is to stand for biblical TRUTH—to be that bright pink bloom—among a church steeped in apostasy and a world that is spiritually dead. Eternity and souls are at stake and little else really matters.

And, while part of the way I do this is by writing on a public platform, you all have your own opportunities to stand for truth. Some of you, like me, use social media to point people to the truth. Some of you teach Sunday school or lead Bible Studies. Some of you volunteer in Christians organizations that have lost sight of God’s Word or serve on church boards that are moving away from biblical truth. Others of you work among professing believers that have no fruit whatsoever. While still others of you have opportunities that come through your unregenerate or unfruitful families.

For most of us, it isn’t just one opportunity or one arena in which we are given opportunity to point people to biblical truth. If we really believe the Bible is true, then our desire to share its truths with others should encompass all of our life. It should be more important than our own desires and dreams. God is our portion. He is our ALL. Do we live like that? Do others know we believe that?

What a challenge to consider, right? Or am I the only one??

I guess the question for us all is: In what way am I being that bright pink bloom of biblical truth in the world where God has sovereignly placed me?

We are not responsible for the response. We are only responsible to speak up. Oh, that we may all have the boldness, the courage, and the love for our fellow man that is greater than our love for self that we need in order to do this. No matter what the response and no matter how difficult, may we continue to stand for what is right and true, according to God’s Word.

Of course, we can’t do this unless we actually know the Word of God, so, as always, it goes back to that basic. We must read and study the Word of God, which is our only anchor in this world of lies and which is a blessed gift and the only means given by God to transform our lives and to grow us to look more like Jesus.

We love to cling to this little verse in I Peter that is quoted in the photo above but there’s context to this verse we dare not ignore.

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𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦: 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵; 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳: 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯.
(I Peter 2:6-11)

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From reading this verse in context we know that we must humble ourselves (which evidences itself through our submission to God’s will and our obedience to His Word) and we must dedicate ourselves to being sober and vigilant, understanding that we have a very real enemy who seeks to devour us whom we need to resist. We also see here that we can expect some suffering (“after ye have suffered a while”).

We can’t rip a verse out of context and claim its promises without understanding God’s complete thought regarding that promise.

There have been a lot of things going on in our lives here in my world and, if I am honest, I feel just a bit numb. Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated 36 years of marriage and I told him I think we’ve had more to work through and process in 2024 than we’ve had altogether in our entire 35 years previously. Not really, but it’s been quite a year for us.

Even the last two days were filled with an unexpected trial as we faced some unexpected circumstances that came flying at our family rather out of the blue.

But here’s the thing…

God’s care was so evident in the midst of it and through it all. His mercies were abundant and His care so obvious.

So what does God’s care look like? Does it eliminate all our financial woes, relationship struggles, illnesses, death, and all of the other trials and troubles we face? Of course not. These things happen to us all in one way or another. We live in a fallen world.

But we are not forsaken in the midst of them. And that’s the key.

However, we must understand that this promise is only for those who live humbly before God. They are for those who are willing to submit to and obey Him. The promise is for those who accept what they cannot change.

The pain is still there, the fear and the anxiety still loom over our heads. But, in the midst of them, God is with us.

I’ve written this before but I was struck so profoundly by something Elizabeth Elliot said many years ago: With acceptance comes peace.

As long as we are fighting against God, we will have no peace and we will not feel nor notice His care.

But when we surrender our will to His, these things become so obvious we cannot imagine how we missed them.

My life has been an ongoing project of learning to surrender to God when I just don’t want to. Sometimes this comes easily. Many times it’s a real struggle. I want to cry “this isn’t fair!” Or “why me?” more often than not. I have not learned to “instantly” surrender. But I do know that this is what God desires of His children. I do know that this is a condition for those who will reap the reward of His generous promises of peace and joy in the midst of trials.

Life is not easy. And we are told in scripture we will suffer. But we are also told that it is just for a while. This is not our eternity. This is not our forever.

As we humble ourselves, as we are sober and vigilant, as we resist the devil…then we know that God will not leave us in a place of suffering but He will make us perfect, establish us, strengthen us, and settle us. He has promised. All glory and dominion are His. He has the power to fulfill His Word and He will do it.

Oh, how I love God’s Word. It has such a grounding effect and helps us find perspective when the world just doesn’t make sense. But we must read and study it in context. We dare not pull verses out of context or we will find ourselves disillusioned and untrusting of God and His Word.

May we march on, trusting our Heavenly Father with faith in His Word, as we wait for the appearance of our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

I’ve been thinking a lot about seeking God lately. I keep running across this term in my Bible. What does it mean? How do we do this? What are the results if we do this? What if someone who claims to be a Christian is not seeking God? What then? Many questions have come to my mind as I have continually run into this little phrase “seek God”. For, in the end, this is our ultimate concern.

I won’t be answering all of those questions in this post today. I just don’t have the time to do an entire study justice. However, I did want consider this phrase and get us all thinking a bit about what it means. Hopefully, this will get us thinking about what place this ultimate concern holds in our own lives, as evidenced by our daily choices and decisions, both great and small.

I went through the Bible this morning, looking at all the verses in which the word “seek” is used. Many were in reference to seeking God. Others were in reference to specific happenings. And some were in reference to what not to seek. Today, I’d like to take a look at a few of the verses about seeking God and then at a few of the verses about what not to seek. I think this will be a helpful study for me and, hopefully, for you, too. I am not giving the verses in any particular order.

Here are a few things we find from scripture regarding our search for God–

1. If we seek Him, we will find Him.

We are promised in God’s Word that if we search for God, we will find Him. This is a guarantee and not some treasure hunt where we may or may not find the treasure. God has told us that we will find Him, if we seek Him.

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2b )

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Luke 11:9)

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (Acts 17:27)

2. If we seek God, He will forgive our sins and give us life!

We are also promised forgiveness of sins if we seek God. But, wait a minute, we may think…what about all of those people who are seeking God without knowing Jesus? The answer to this is clear: They aren’t actually seeking the One True God. They are seeking their own manmade god. God has very specifically told us in His Word how we are to seek Him. If we don’t submit to and obey Him, we are not truly seeking Him. This is a very important distinction to make.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. (Psalm 22:26 )

For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: (Amos 5:4)

3. Those who seek God are never forsaken by Him.

God promises never to forsake those who seek Him. Let’s meditate on that promise for just a moment. Isn’t that simply amazing?

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. (Psalm 9:10)

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:29-32)

4. If we seek God, we are blessed and we can expect good things from Him.

Life is sometimes hard for God’s children. It is simply not true that we get to bypass trials when we become one of God’s dear children. We still face trials, troubles, disease, persecution, and, yes, eventually, death. I am so saddened when I see Christians believe that we can escape these things if we have “enough faith”. Oh, what a lie from the pit of hell! God has never promised us escape from these things. However, He does promise us blessing and good things. What are these things, if they are not keeping us from trials? We know from God’s Word (and through our own experiences and the testimonies of others) that the blessing and good things come in the form of peace, grace, mercy, and other priceless intangibles. God truly does not forsake those who seek Him.

The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. (Psalm 119:2).

The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. (Lamentations 3:25)

5. Seeking God gives us great cause to rejoice!

Perhaps we do not feel like rejoicing today. Could that mean that we are seeking after our own selfish desires instead of seeking God? Yes, of course, that is what it means. For seeking God will always give us cause for rejoicing. It is sobering for me to think how often I am lacking in joy because of my own selfishness. Anyone else out there relate??

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. (1 Chronicles 16:10)

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified. (Psalm 40:16)

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. (Psalm 105:3)

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What else do we find from scripture regarding our seek for God? There are a few important things to consider–

First, we never seek God without Him stirring our hearts. We cannot do it on our own. Romans 3:11 and Psalm 14:1 both tell us that there are NONE that seek after God. John gives further elaboration to this by letting us clearly know that no man can come to salvation unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). This is a hard truth, but it is throughout scripture and we dare not ignore it nor try to change it simply because we don’t like it.

Second, we tend to seek God in our affliction. Hosea 5:15 reminds us of this. How often does a trial or trouble cause us to seek harder after God? These things tend to soften and mold the hearts of true believers.

Third, there will be a time that we cannot seek God. Isaiah 55:6 tells us that we are to seek Him while He can still be found. This must mean that there will be a time when He can’t be found. I have not studied this passage at length but I do know that when death comes, it will be too late to seek Him. It must be done while we still have breath. It is dangerous and exceedingly unwise to put off seeking the Lord because death can strike at any moment.

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And, finally, we find in scripture the things that people seek after other than the Lord. These are the things that distract us and keep us from a whole-hearted seeking of God.

People seek after sorcery and signs.

The Word of God is where we learn to know God. But, for so many, this is not enough. Even today someone showed me the testimony of someone who had “encountered Jesus” through a new age method and yet they believe this is actually Jesus. God tells us in His Word that these things are not of Him. He tells us that we shouldn’t need signs. Blessed are they that believe without seeing. Blessed are they that trust in His Word. The Bible is sufficient for all we need in our Christian life. But it doesn’t always “feel good”, does it? It doesn’t always seem like enough to a generation that longs for good feelings and experiences. May we be astute and discerning as we travel the road called “Christianity”, for it is literally overflowing with landmines of heresy and new age practices and, yes, outright sorcery.

Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:31)

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. (Matthew 16:4)

People do not seek God because of their pride.

I am not sure there is anything that can kill our search for the One, True God quicker than pride. It is pride that insists that we can stand righteous before God based on our own good deeds. It is pride that says we don’t need a Savior. It is pride that demands its own way of salvation and arrogantly gives its own definition of what living the Christian life looks like. Pride is truly a death blow to a genuine seeking of God.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (Psalm 10:4)

And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this. (Hosea 7:10)

People seek after their own desires rather than seek after God.

Oh, how many people believe that Christianity is all about fulfilled dreams and finding personal purpose? This is not biblical Christianity at all but it is a counterfeit that uses the same terms and names. When we replace seeking God with seeking our own good, we have also replaced true religion for false religion. This comes in many ways. Some seek after the things of this world–fame, popularity, wealth. Others prioritize health, family, even church duties over seeking God. Some just simply love their sin and aren’t willing to give it up. Many love entertainment that God hates and this keeps them from a whole-hearted seeking of God. We all have that one thing we desire that keeps us from seeking God with our whole heart. The key is to be aware and to pray to God for help. We cannot turn our backs on these things without His help.

The following verses remind us that seeking God and seeking self are
absolutely incompatible—

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (Romans 6:12)

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Galatians 5:12)

Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:2-5)

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:12)

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; (I Peter 2:11)

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We will never seek God perfectly. We will fight sin and our fleshly desires for all of our lives. The key is that there is a battle. For no battle signals that there is no life. May we never give up the fight as we strive to seek God with our whole hearts, believing in God’s Word that, in doing so, it will yield much blessing and rejoicing in our lives.

For seeking God is the ultimate concern for all who would claim to know Christ.