I went out seeking, searching for God?
Rather than closer, my earnest quest
Drew me farther from the Father.
I sought; sincerity couldn’t do it,
Fervency and diligence didn’t suffice.
Hunt high and low, humanity’s search
For God is fruitless: I couldn’t find Him
We can’t find God until He finds us:
God found me, God saved me,
God showed me the way to His heart
God gave me the key to His heart: worship.
It is so easy to be swept off our feet by religion that we get lost in Church. In pursuit of spirituality, we are recaptured by traditions we tried escaping. Then we end up with more than Ten Commandments, none of which we can keep. Our methods and formulas make serving God seem such a back-breaking burden that scares observers. Believe it or not, our efforts toward God take us farther from Him but worship keeps us constantly within His reach.
We try so hard to please God but end up saddened and saddled because we don’t go about it His way. We don’t seek His way. We want to serve God our way. We want to love God in our convenience. We devise and push our own styles of worship without checking if it is acceptable to God or not. It appears great to us so God must like it. We build walls to have a process of worship, then we run into the same walls and wonder why we try so hard and can’t get through. Why is His Presence wanting, waning, fading from our faces, our lives, our homes, and our churches?
We struggle with words that turn out chaff in the wind rather than worshipful. We clamor for titles that draw us no closer than we were. We assume that we will attain intimacy with Abba when we have become richer, crammed more Scriptures, turned preachers, praise leaders, skillful organizers, and such. Truth is, God is not seeking for the good, the rich, and the righteous. Neither does He despise the wild, the poor, and the sinner. God is seeking for men and women who would love Him enough to seek Him and serve Him in ways that are pleasing to Him.
God is seeking for those who care for what He cares about. Not expert program organizers and eloquent preachers. God is seeking those who love Him above all else and chase Him to the end irrespective of what is at stake. He is seeking men who are seeking God purely for God’s sake; not for favors, not for riches, not for healing, and not for miracles. He is seeking those who esteem Him above all else and would do whatever pleases Him. Not those who exploit His name and power.
God is seeking those who will treasure Him above the pressures of life and not be limited in expressing their love and appreciation to Him. He is seeking those who despite the times and seasons, locations and situations, look into His eyes, accurately interpret the awesome love welling therein, and consequently erupt in praise and thanksgiving, lifting up their hearts and hands and voices without shame, full of gratitude, to Him who loved us before we knew what love was all about. This is worship.
Whether you are learned or illiterate, a minister or a layman, it doesn’t matter. God is seeking for a heart that is willing and ready to lay it all at His feet, receive all that is in His hands, and take it out there for the world to see how gracious and glorious He is. In the measure that you worship, will you be transformed into Him whom you worship and only in that measure will you be able to influence your world. May you lay it all at His feet, to receive all that He would give (not what you want and demand), and give it all (to whoever or wherever He leads,) as you worship Him in spirit and in truth, amen.
Glory!