Looking for God in All the Wrong Places

What I am anxious to see in Christian believers is a beautiful paradox. I want to see in them the joy of finding God while at the same time they are blessedly pursuing Him. I want to see in them the great joy of having God yet always wanting Him.  A.W. Tozer

Do you ever observe other people?  People fascinate me.  By that I mean sometimes I will go to an event and if we are not busy I will observe people.  You can learn a great deal about someone from their actions and facial expressions.  If you think about it, the majority of the people you see are searching for something and many times they don’t know what that something is.

I believe that when God created us he placed in us a need for Him.  There is in every person a need for our Heavenly Father.  The problem is we often get sidetracked by our search in the wrong places for Him.  Some of us don’t even realize He is what we need.  So what do we do?  We look for the missing part of us in other people or we pursue the things of the world to try to fill the void in us. 

One of the things that needs to happen is we have to want God wholeheartedly and be willing to give everything else up in our pursuit of Him. 

Remember the parable of the rich young ruler.  He asked Jesus how he could have eternal life. Jesus responded by telling him that to enter into eternal life he must keep the commandments.  The ruler proceeds to ask Jesus which ones.  Jesus tells him, “You shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness and you must honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.  The young ruler tells Jesus that he has done all these things from his youth.  He then asks Jesus, “What do I still lack?”  Jesus responded by telling him to sell what he had, give to the poor and follow Me.  When the young ruler heard that, he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions.

I am guilty of not wanting God enough.  I want things of the world when they are temporary.  The things of the world only give temporary satisfaction.  If I am looking for God; the temporary things will not fill the void in me.  Only God can fill that void.  When we understand that He is what we need; we will give up what we have in this life to pursue Him with everything in us.  If we talk to God but don’t hear from Him, maybe we don’t want Him enough. 

    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of not wanting You enough.  I often get distracted by the things in this world and my relationship with You suffers. Please help me to keep my focus on You, to believe in Your promises and follow You.  Help me to keep my eyes focused on You so that I don’t look for You in all the wrong places.  

Scripture:  But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.  Deuteronomy 4:29-31