It's a Good Time to Seek God
Isn’t it crazy how life can change so quickly?
One minute we’re thinking about spring break trips, March Madness and tax season; next we’re locked up at home with a packed freezer, more canned goods than we’ve ever owned and any & all toilet paper we could plunder from Walmart.
I find myself swinging on a pendulum between “This is fine! What Netflix show should I binge?” and “All of 2020 is cancelled.”
I think the root of our fear is our lack of control. In America, we’re used to controlling what we eat, where we go, what we do, who we see, and when we do it. It’s our plans on our timeline. Then, when something more powerful than our plan drops in and takes over, we begin to feel like we’re spiraling.
I find that––at least, in my life––these situations bring me back to the basic, big questions:
Where do I find security?
How do I deal with fear?
Why is this happening?
How can I be okay?
Everything comes back to the fact that I am not in control. This realization can be terrifying, OR, it can be a relief, because it brings us back to where we’re supposed to be in the first place.
[Readers say, “whaaaat?”]
It’s as simple as this: God is God, and we are not. As I’m reading through the Bible in 2020, this theme continues to pop up everywhere. We humans like to be in control. We WANT to be as knowledgeable and powerful as God (@AdamAndEve). But we’re not, because God didn’t create us to be that way. He’s God, and He’s in charge of the world.
But that’s not the end of the story. I can tell you from my personal experience and from what we know in Scripture, He is a GOOD God. He is loving, forgiving, kind, strong and sovereign.
He’s also not just a far away, pie-in-the sky God who smiles and glances our way every now and then. He deeply loves us, and He wants a relationship with every human He created. You CAN know God. Pray to Him, read the Bible, and talk to your Christian friends about what it looks like to seek Him.
You don’t have to know everything or have an arsenal of perfectly thought-out theological beliefs, because (SPOILER ALERT!) you’ll never get there. God calls us to walk with Him. Thankfully, He’s the best Teacher we could ask for, and He is with us every step of the way.
While you’re asking these big questions, remember this: We don’t get to understand all of God’s ways, but we do get to understand some of them! One of my favorite verses is Deuteronomy 29:29,
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
So here’s your mini-sermon for the day:
Some things are mysteries to us, but God understands them.
Some things God reveals to us.
When God reveals things (through His Word), we are to follow them.
All of this to say––if you’re questioning, confused, scared or uncertain, seek God. He is there, and He wants to know you.
Jeremiah 29:13-14a says,
“‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord.”
What a promise!
And last but not least––in some way or another, you’re all quarantined. I know you have extra time on your hands. When you get the “Are you still watching Netflix?” message, turn off the TV and open your Bible. Listen to a sermon. Pray. And don’t be afraid. He will meet You when you come with a willing heart. Let’s go forth and seek Him!