Pursue, Seek, and Find

I confess that in the past I have never quite understood fasting.  It has not been in our tool box, probably because of our Lutheran culture.  I have felt uncomfortable fasting to "move God" and get the answers I want.  That was my take on it, anyway.  But God has been speaking to me lately about "seeking" Him.  When I felt Holy Spirit nudge me to fast before the prayer session with the couple I mentioned before, I asked what the purpose of this fasting was and I felt Holy reply, "To seek God".  It was not long after that response that everywhere I turned I was hearing the words..........seek Him.....seeking God......seek  seek.  It came up in a sermon by Rick Warren.  It came up twice in our devotionals.  It popped up on a Facebook post.  It came up today as a memory posting from 2 years ago.  Seek His face.

So we went into fasting with the premise we would be seeking God.  When we wanted to reach for food, we stopped and sought Him in prayer.  For mealtimes we read scriptures, discussed what we had read and prayed.  We took communion.  In all those activities we had the opportunity to seek and find.  We know His desire for us to pursue Him is not just during fasting.  

We can find God in most things I expect.  We can seek and find Him in nature.......in it's beauty, colors, animals, insects, birds, flowers, smells.  We can also seek and find Him throughout our days, our lives with those we love and care about.  His Presence in the midst.  Are we aware?   I am surprised at how often something pops up on Facebook that speaks clearly to me and I ponder how often I "miss" His love notes because distractions get in the way.

On the opposite side of that we need to question ourselves.....do we seek and find God with what we say.......what we do..........what we watch on TV........what we read........Some stuff, not. We pursue Him in worship!   How about life's challenges?  In the midst of a big life storm I often seek Him....but will I focus on Him in all our circumstances?  Sometimes it has to be intentional with how loud the storm is, but He is there.  Oh, yes, He is there..........here.....His calming presence in the midst.  

Bethel Worship

I am not sure where God is going with the continual messages we are receiving on "seeking Him",  but He definitely has our attention, especially as we prepare for next week.  We continue to pursue Him, remembering His goodness as we seek His face.