What Are You Looking For?

(flickr creative commons - katieb50)

We’ve all heard the saying, “If it had been a snake, it would’ve bit you!”

The “it” referred to in this common cliché is the subject of our search, the thing or answer we are looking for but can’t seem to find, the understanding we desire but can’t seem to grasp.

And then when we do find “it,” we realize “it” had been practically right in front of our face.

Have you ever looked for something frantically only to be startled at its proximity to your original starting point?

Like the time I appeared as a mad woman searching my house for my cell phone while talking on it?

Or this morning, when I sat down quickly to apply my makeup and discovered my blush was missing…except it was sitting on my lap…right where I put it when I first sat down?

Sometimes what we are looking for is in plain sight but we don’t “see” it.

Maybe we are in a hurry and not paying attention.

Maybe we are not fully in the moment for whatever reason.

Or maybe we know it’s there but don’t acknowledge it as the answer to our question or the one thing that could satisfy our deepest longing.

And often the answer to our question or the solution to our problem lies waiting in our asking.

How can we receive an answer to a question we refuse to ask? How can we find something if we cannot see? Or how can we expect the right answer if we are asking the wrong person?

The Bible says in Hebrews 4: 16 (AMP), “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

What is it you long for today?

Do you have questions or anxieties or problems that need to  be answered?


Do you long to be loved unconditionally?

 

Do you have sins that need to be forgiven?

Still waiting for peace and comfort amidst your trying circumstances?

Maybe you’re looking in the wrong places.

Maybe what you’re searching for has been with you all along.

“… for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, “ Hebrews 13:5b.

“Keep on asking and it will be given you; [b] keep on seeking and you will find; [c]keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you,” Matthew 7:7.

How can I pray with you today, friends?

It is Good to Draw Near

For some time now I have felt God's invitation to come closer...an invitation to know Him more...to fellowship and worship all throughout the day. At times I have to just stop and kneel beside my bed, even if only for a few minutes. And some nights, like tonight, sleep is no rival for time in His presence. My body is tired but my spirit is doing cartwheels.

This morning our Pastor finished up his most recent series with a message titled Seeking God's Face in Prayer and Worship. He spoke about how the church as a whole has become quite efficient in seeking the hands of God when in need or want of something, but are neglecting the Giver Himself.

God is urging us to get to know Him. He desires that we wade out a little deeper.

James 4:8 assures us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus promises that if we seek, we will find and if we knock, it will be opened to us.

Again Jesus speaks in John 7:37 and invites those who are thirsty to come to Him and drink.

The psalmist in Psalm 73:28 proclaims that it is good to draw near to God.

To be near our Savior. To sit at the feet of Jesus. To rest in the lap of our God. To bask in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

No petitions.

No requests.

No pleas.

Just be near Him.

(A very abbreviated summary of my notes):

I. We must first seek God's face in prayer.

• Relationship is dependent on fellowship. Jesus' relationship to His heavenly Father was directly related to his prayer life.

• The disciples knew that prayer was key. In Luke 11:1, they did not ask Jesus to show them how to heal or how to do miracles or how to teach but how to pray. "...Lord, teach us to pray..."

II. We must seek God's face in worship.

• As Esther prepared for her time with the King (Esther 2:12), she used oils and perfumes not of her own preference, but those that were pleasing to him. We, too, must prepare and worship in ways that are pleasing to the King, however we feel the Holy Spirit leading. It is not about our preference, but His.

• In Matthew 26:8, Mary brings an alabaster flask of very expensive oil and pours it on Jesus as He sits at the table. Pastor James painted a picture of Mary breaking open the flask and emptying the entire bottle without hesitation. She was extravagant in her worship no matter the cost. Today, the majority of the church measures out a little here a little there, deciding how much we give God in worship. He wants us to come in our brokenness (break open the flask) and pour out everything we have on Him, no matter the cost.

It is good for me to draw near to God...Ps. 73:28

More posts on drawing near to God:
i am His
An Invitation, A Call to Intimacy
Unworthy but Invited to Come
My Soul Longs For You
Complete in His Presence

Today I am linking with Jen at Finding Heaven, Michelle at Nebraska Graceful and counting my gifts with Ann.

#66-75 of graces embraced and gifts undeserved but given anyway

66 lifting holy hands
67 knees bent
68 arms open
69 the weight of His glory
70 spiritual cartwheels
71 an invitation to come closer
72 the sound of sleeping beauties
73 staying up late and sleeping in on holidays
74 corporately reading through Matthew 1-4 on a Friday night in a little church in the middle of nowhere
75 overwhelmed in His presence and tears that flow freely

My Soul Longs For You

All morning my spirit sang "My soul longs for You.....my soul longs for You..."  Over and over again.

I could feel an invitation.  It was an appointed time for me to fellowship with my Father, and I could find no words other than the five I had recited a hundred times already...

My soul longs for You...

With each breath I spoke these words came an increase in their depth and meaning. 

My soul longs for You...

I spoke them until I could speak no more.  I was captivated and captured by His holy presence and my words failed me. 

From deep within, my spirit uttered words outside of my understanding and beyond my human comprehension.  There were no words in my vocabulary appropriate or adequate for this moment...

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!"

Wonderfully amazing.

Indescribably good.

Like nothing on earth.

There is a yearning on the inside of each of us.  A longing only our Creator can satisfy.  No matter how or what we try to substitute, there is nothing or no one worthy to fill the place that cries out for Him.

My soul DOES long for Him....

And sometimes, whether in times of visitation, worship, repentance, brokenness or desperation,  often our words fail us.

I am reminded of the song by Amy Grant, "Better Than a Hallelujah."

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful the mess we are

the honest cries of breaking hearts...

...the silence when the words don't come...

...better than a hallelujah sometimes... 

It's not in the eloquence of our speech, the perfection in our posture, impressive vocabulary, or any righteousness we think we might have, but in the beauty of our brokenness, coming to God just as we are...

Honestly.

Openly.

Surrendered.

Answer Him when He calls.

Open the door when He knocks.

Say yes to His invitation.

Let Him be the One to satisfy the longing that only He can.

O God, You are my God,

Early will I seek You,

My soul thirsts for You,

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1