Make room for discovery

"Anyone, without exception, can know God if they really want to simply by praying, by honestly telling Him that they want to know Him. He always responds to honest seekers. Jesus promised, 'All who seek, find.'" (Peter Kreeft)  The objective in seeking is almost always to find, discover, or expose.  We never set out in a true spirit of seeking in anticipation we will never discover anything - we may not always know what we will discover, but we seek something. When our seeking is to find answers to what truly troubles our souls, the likelihood that our honest seeking will take us right to the feet of the cross is pretty good - because God is always looking for those who will seek with the desire to know truth.  In seeking, God reveals truth - in revealing truth, the soul is set free.

Without faith no one can please God because the one coming to God must believe He exists, and He rewards those who come seeking. (Hebrews 11:6 VOICE)

If we consider our passage today as "instruction" to be followed, the we could divide it into a couple of sections:

1) Our mindset in seeking is one of believing we will find what we seek.  The one who believes God exists comes to God with an expectant heart.  There is some form of "anticipation" in coming - we may not be sure what we will receive by our seeking, but our actions are based on the belief God is the creator of all things, cares deeply for his creation, and is the one who rewards all who seek to know him as Lord.

2) Our position in seeking is really based on hope.  We see in verse one of this chapter:  "Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen."  We don't seek aimlessly, but with a specific "purpose" or hope in mind.  We know there are things we don't understand, have not seen, don't yet know exist, but we come expectantly (hopefully).  Some think of hope as a "pie in the sky" kind of thing - as though it were a "crap shoot" as to if we will ever receive anything good from our seeking.  Our passage assures us those who seek God with the conviction of heart determined to understand him will receive this reward!

3) Our action in seeking is one of not only taking steps toward finding truth, but it is being open (making room) for whatever it is we discover in our seeking.  It would make no sense to seek to discover something only to leave what we discovered behind.  We either tend and preserve our discoveries in life, or we take them up and put them into some use in our lives.  If we discover a quiet little spot in the woods where we can enjoy the babbling of a nearby brook, songs of the birds high up in the trees, and the cool repose of a lush bed of grass, we might want to preserve this for many a return to this spot to enjoy it over and over again.  If we discover a beautiful seashell washed up onto the shore of the beach, we might scoop it up and take it home to remember the discovery time and time again.  God's truths are both preserved for future use (time and time again), and enjoyed in the moment!

We don't seek God with an absent-minded, come what may kind of attitude.  We seek God with determined spirit, open mind, and "boots to the ground" kind of action!  Just sayin!

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