Seek Me and Live

If you need to know life to the fullest, then you must focus on seeking God. But this seeking does not come easy. There are many voices calling out to you to give them your attention. In this clash of voices, the voice of God is often crowded out. One of the first things to do when seeking Him is to eliminate other dominant voices that claim your attention.

It is like a child growing up. In the beginning stages of a Christian walk of faith a believer listens to the voice of other elderly believers. Often they listen much to the voice of the one who led them to Jesus. But a believer cannot live like that forever. He has to seek God and hear His voice. Therefore he has to learn to seek God step by step. As he begins to familiarize with God’s voice, He can slowly eliminate the need for depending on other voices.

And it takes time. It takes an effort and discipline on the part of the believer to spend time with God in reading His Word. No doubt about it; it is through His written Word that God speaks most: “They are not just idle words for you–they are your life” (Deuteronomy 32:47a NIV). In the Word you will hear His voice. Jesus said: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life” (John 10:27, 28a NIV). So seeking God involves an intense and intimate listening to His voice. It is a sure sign of your relationship with Him.

One of the troubles of Christians is their inability to discern the Lord’s voice from other voices. This inability springs from the fact that they seek other voices too much. When God said, “Seek me and live” (Amos 5:4), He also added: “Do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not go to Beersheba … Seek the Lord and live” (Amos 5:5a, 6b NIV). The places mentioned here were all significant places of great spiritual experiences in the past (in the life of the Israelites). But God is forbidding the elevation of these places or experiences to mean anything more that they were supposed to mean.

What does that mean to you? It means that places of worship should not have more importance than God. It means that great spiritual experiences should not substitute the seeking of God. God can throw such places and experiences into the dustbin if needed: “For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing” (Amos 5:5b NIV). It is He alone whom you should seek. And live!