A few weeks ago I got together with four of my girlfriends for lunch and some much needed talking and catching up. During our time together, one of my friends said something that has stuck with me ever since, and it has been on my mind a lot. She said,
"Too often we seek the answers, instead of seeking God."
That really hit home for me, in that moment, and in the days after as I thought about it. I realized how often I do just that, and especially how much I've done that over this past semester. I focus on the problems, instead of focusing on Christ. I pray asking God for the answers--and then I seek the answers on my own-- when I should be seeking God. I'm not saying that seeking answers is wrong, because I don't think it is. God gave us brains for a reason, and I believe that He wants us to use them, in a way that glorifies Him, though. When we focus solely on the problems, and on the answers we're looking for, I think that we miss out on so much.
The Bible doesn't tell us to seek out the answers to our problems, it tells us to seek after God. In 1 Chronicles 28:9, David charges Solomon to "...know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you..."
And again in Jeremiah 29:13, the idea is to seek God. "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart."
And then in Matthew 6:33, we are told to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness."
When we seek the answers instead of seeking God, I think we are choosing what is second best. Many times the answers we crave will never be found on this earth. But the thing we CAN find, if we seek Him, is God. He wants us to seek Him, to pursue Him. When we seek Him instead of just seeking the answers to our problems, we can find peace, we can find joy, and we can find contentment. And often, the very answers we have been looking and looking for are found in Him.
If you are looking for peace, seek Jesus, the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
If you are looking for comfort, seek your Heavenly Father, the Wonderful Counselor. (Isaiah 9:6)
If you are looking for protection and safety, seek God, your Strong Tower and Refuge. (Psalm 61:3
If you looking for direction, seek God--He is always the right direction in which to move. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
No matter what you are seeking, choose to seek God. HE is the answer you have been looking for.
