“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
Have you ever lost something precious or valuable like money, your keys, a cell phone, pet, bag, or child? How did you feel at the time when you were unable to locate the lost valuable? I venture to say that you were probably a nervous wreck until you found it! I admit that I too have misplaced valuable items from time to time. Generally, when that happens, after the initial “heart-in-my-throat” response to realizing the loss, I breathe a word of prayer and ask the Lord to help me to find what I have lost so that I don’t waste precious resources in an effort to recover it.
Interestingly enough, when we lose something that we desperately need to find, we keep on searching for it until at last we find it. This, I dare say, is the act of searching with all of our hearts. We patiently and painstakingly retrace our steps over and over again, and with all that is within us, we try to remember where was the last place we saw or handled the item. In the same manner, the Scriptures have been given to us and we are encouraged to search them daily. Why? Because God reveals Himself in ways that we can relate to, and in language we can understand, in hopes that we will indeed find eternal life through His dear Son.
The God who made the heavens and the Earth certainly isn’t lost that we should set up a search party and go looking for Him. However, when we recognize that because of the degradation of sin in our world, that we are the ones who are lost and need to be rescued, the journey to being restored back to our Creator becomes more exciting and we desire to share what we have found with those who are still lost and searching.
As a Shepherd goes in search of a sheep that has lost its way, in very much the same way, our Savior comes in search of us while we’re in our lost condition. As we seek Him, may we no less seek Him than we would some lost earthly possession of great value. As we seek Him, may we search for Him as for hidden treasure. He is the Pearl of Great Price, and He has promised that if we seek Him and search for Him with all our hearts, we will find Him.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we recognize that we are lost without You. We need Your guidance and direction in order to make it through this life and be welcomed into Your eternal kingdom. Please help us not to deceive ourselves about our true condition, but to acknowledge that You’re the only one capable of saving us from sin and from ourselves. Teach us to yearn for You and to search for You with all our hearts as we would for hidden treasure, and may we find You and be radically changed by Your Spirit, for Your glory and Your honor, we humbly pray. Amen!
Written by: Shauna L. Menns
