“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).
This wonderful word from God is especially reassuring when we understand the context. Moses is prophesying to the children of Israel about future times if/when they become corrupt and begin to worship other idols. At that time, they will be scattered, exiled from the Promised Land to nations that worship other gods. But, Moses promises, if from there (this place of exile) you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.
Well, brothers and sisters, if you define exile as anywhere outside of the Kingdom of God, as Peter certainly does in 1 Peter 2:11, then we are in exile here on earth even as our true citizenship is in Heaven.
I consider myself a seeker in this sense. I love to think about God. On my good days, He is everywhere I look: in nature, in the faces of my family, in the hands of our incredible staff. On my bad days, he is there, too. I just might not be looking for Him. Or maybe I am looking in the wrong place or in the wrong way or for the wrong things. Right?
Earlier this week I read a passage from Psalm 31 in which the Psalmist tells God, “My times are in your hands.” That is a figure of speech because, of course, God does not have hands. He is a Spirit. We attribute human characteristics to God to help us to understand him, but that is just because our human minds are not capable of comprehending the full scope of His Being. How can we as humans understand the omnipresence of God? Isaiah says, “he sits enthroned above the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). At the same time, the Psalmist says he is present everywhere, to each of us at the same time (Psalm 139:7-12).
He is there when we are happy and when we are sad.
He is there when we are serving and when we are being served.
He is there when we are healthy and when we are sick.
He is there when we are at church, at home, in our car, at the park, or anywhere else.
He is there when we wish he were not, or even when we forget about him.
God is not hiding from us. All we must do is seek him, open our eyes (see the June 23, 2021, Chaplain’s Corner for a wonderful story about this). He is there in nature; he is there in the face of our loved ones. He is there in the chapel, in the dayroom, in the dining room, the dorms, the office, and the parking lot.
What is more, God sent his son, Jesus, to dwell among us. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus, God Incarnate, has always been with us in spirit. But then he condescended to take on humanity to walk right alongside us. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1, 14)
And then, when Jesus knew that he would be returning to heaven, he still promised us that he would be with us always. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:29b). And, to further provide us access to God’s presence, Jesus told us “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—” (John 14:16), which is of course, the Holy Spirit.
My advice is this:
- When life is going great, give thanks and seek God. You need him more than you know.
- When life is not going great, pray and seek God. He will provide for your needs.
- At all times, practice seeking God, remembering who He is and what He has done for you.
“… God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5b).
In Christ,
Judy
judycline 