Tornadoes and Lost Dogs
Right after the tornado tore through our community last week, I was parking my vehicle in the driveway at home and noticed a car driving slowly down our street. I heard voices yelling out of the widow and thought it seemed a little strange. Then, they yelled at me. Startled a bit because I didn’t recognize the car or the driver, I turned my attention their direction. They asked if I had seen their dog. Unfortunately, I had not so I could provide no help to their search, and they continued on yelling the name of their dog and searching high and low. They were doing exactly what anyone would do in this situation. They were seeking out this beloved member of their family.
There’s a parallel between the intensity of the seeking they were doing and the intensity of the seeking believers ought to be doing in these days. The last year has been filled with daily death counts and regular reports of sickness and struggle. In addition, the last few weeks have been filled with news of inflation, economic woes, conflict in the Middle East, and even gas lines in some places in the country. While some people choose to meditate on the politics of such events, we will profit more from spiritual considerations regarding such matters. That’s not to say the political considerations don’t matter, but rather that they are secondary. In other words, if we never think about current events beyond a political level we will miss out on what God might do in our lives.
All these things should be shouting at us to seek the Lord. In similar days, God sent a prophet named Azariah to King Asa with this same calling: “Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” (2 Chronicles 15:2). Like never before God’s people need to seek the Lord.
Too many believers are passive when it comes to the Lord. We are not seeking God. We wouldn’t mind if He shows up in our lives but we certainly aren’t going to go to any trouble to find Him. That’s the problem. As Azariah said, “If you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” If you are content to live a life devoid of any effort to seek God, God will oblige you. Generally speaking, God will not force you to seek Him. But if you do seek Him, He has made a promise: “He will let you find Him.”
God has not moved. He is not far away. He has not concealed Himself. God desires to be found by us. But we must seek Him. We must pursue Him. What does it mean to seek God? It means intentionally spending daily time with God. It means reading His Word. It means praying, not just with a view toward God giving us stuff but with a view toward hearing what God has to say. It also means seeking God corporately with God’s people in your local church. Will you seek Him today? If you do, you will find the Lord faithful.