Seeking Him

Many people say that they believe in God. Many say that they trust Christ for salvation. Many say they are going to heaven. Many claim to be Christians. But...are they?

The answer to this is unknown. For only God knows the hearts of man (1 Samuel 16:7 and 1 Kings 8:39). But we can usually tell from a person’s actions and words whether they are truly following God. This is because the person who is a true believer seeks Him and strives to follow Him. The latter is easy to understand, but what does it mean to seek God?

The answer to this is a definition of the word “seek”. In the English language, it means to look, search, or try to obtain something. Like when you seek shells on the beach, you are searching, or looking, for them; working towards obtaining them. That is basically what it means in the Greek as well, but it goes a bit further. The most frequently used Greek word that is translated for seek is ζητέω, or in a way we can read it – zēteō; pronounced dzay-teh'-o. Mostly in the New Testament (the Old Testament was written in Hebrew) it means to worship God. In a bad sense, on the other hand, it can mean to plot against life. But it can also mean to “go about, desire, endeavour, enquire, require...seek (after, for, means)”.

So to seek God, we must, first of all, worship Him. But this opens up a whole new topic – what is worship? I won’t dive into that now, but a basic definition of worship is to adore, and give reverence to. So, before all, we must worship God. He must be our number one priority. He must be the one we love, the one we adore, the one we reverence, the one we praise. Worship flows out of the heart of the worshipper that loves the worshipped more than anything else.

What else? Is worship all there is? Well, in my opinion, no. Seeking God also includes wanting to know more about Him. What does it take to get to know someone better? What do you do?

To get to know someone better, the main thing you can do is talk with them. Get to know who they are – what they like and don’t like, how old they are, how they grew up (or are growing up), etc. To get to know God more, you must talk with Him. Prayer and reading His word is how this is accomplished. Prayer is talking with God; reading His word is listening to what He has done, what He will do, and what He is doing.

Seeking God is more than a phrase. Seeking God is an action. Seeking God is a commitment. Seeking God comes from a heart burning with love for Him.

“To know Him is to want to know Him more.” – Casting Crowns

If you truly know God and you really, honestly, deep-in-your-heart love Him, then you will want to worship Him. You will search for His thoughts. You will diligently seek His wisdom and guidance. You will strive to do His will. You will want to know Him more.

While reading that last paragraph, did you question your love for Him? If so, you’re not alone. None of us are perfect; none of us want to serve Him every day of our lives. We all have bad days. Friend, you’re human too. Admitting that you don’t have a blazing fire for Him is the first step in realizing and correcting your imperfect service and loyalty.

With many people, they start out having what seems to be a blazing fire. They realize their need for God, repent, and immediately begin their new life in Christ. But soon, that fire dies down a bit – sometimes a lot – until something rekindles your fire and you realize you haven’t been the Christian you should be; the one you claim to be.

Faith in God is like a fire. True faith must be started by God, and then through study, prayer, and reading His word, you stoke that fire, and as you grow as a believer, your fire grows and grows until it becomes a roaring fire that can’t be put out.

That is seeking God.

From the outside, it seems that most people in America today are not practicing Christians. Though I don’t know that for a fact – as I said before, only God knows the heart of man – I can speculate that because of what I see in the people around me. But there are those people that clearly have Christ as their center focus. You know them. They’re the ones that always have a smile on their face; they’re the ones who are always truly praying for you, not just saying it; they’re the ones that are different; they’re the ones that make a difference in their church; they’re the ones that love Christ more than life or anything or anyone else. They’re the ones who are truly following Christ, truly seeking Him.

Amazing, isn’t it? When you think about it, not many people are like that. But when you see them you know them, and you admire them. They’ve got a relationship with God that is different – and you want it. They are human beings, just like you. They simply love God more than anything else in all creation. Christ is their first priority.

Don’t take me wrong, though. I think there are many true Christians in this world who are not immediately recognized as such. They are still Christ’s, but they are either shy, or care too much about what the world thinks of them.

I don’t know about you, but being 100% sold-out to Christ is definitely what I want to be known for. I want to be known as the teenage girl who is always praying for and with her friends; I want to be known as the teenager who defies the world and follows Christ with all her heart; I want to be the girl that people look at and see Christ in me. How can I accomplish that? I can do that by seeking Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let’s go!