By Andrew D. Urshan
We have often heard from many, saying, over and over again, “Seek God,” but few have stopped to study what seeking God really means and how to find the right way of seeking, which brings God’s blessings down.
Seeking is not mere desiring or wishing, but it is desiring and longing put into practice. Many desire and long for things, but do not seek after them. A working man may desire and long for a good job, and yet give into discouragement and laziness and not seek the same which is to be found. A person may desire and long to be a musician and yet never became one, just because he fails to seek after it. So it is in religious and devotional things also, many may desire the things of God and never obtain them because they will not put their desires into practice by prevailing prayer.
Before we study the great benefits of seeking God and the true way of seeking, we wish to say that seeking of the Lord is commanded. The Lord through the mouth of His servant Amos sayeth, “Seek ye me and ye shall live.” Again, “See the Lord, and ye shall live; lest He breaks out like fire in the house of Joseph and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.” Again in this chapter we read, “Seek Him that makes the seven stars and orion, and turneth the shadow of death into morning.”
In the New Testament we see our Savior emphasizes seeking God, when He said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” again “how can ye believe, which receive honor one of another and seek not the honor that comes from God only.” In other words our Savior exhorts us to seek divine honor. Again our Savior emphatically said, “SEEK and ye shall finds.”
The apostles also urged the church to give themselves to seeking God. Paul said, “Seek those things which are above,” and God is a “rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” So seeking God is a scriptural fundamental for a devotional Christian life.
God as our gracious friend knows how much good and blessing involves seeking Him that is why he urges us continually to seek Him.
We read in Psalm 34:10, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” This scripture shows the great love and care of God for those who seek after Him.
A mother lion is the most terrific and swift hunter: she is busy and the most capable animal of obtaining food for her little ones. She fights and tears to pieces every difficulty confronting her prey and she always manages to get nourishment and safety for her beloved little ones. Yet with all that she being only a creature fails to obtain at times food, so the lions do lack; but the seekers after God never: why? because their God not only loves them more fervently than a tender mother loves her children; but He is Almighty with whom all things are possible: Therefore we are exhorted care not for what we eat or what to dress, but cast our cares on our Heavenly Father and seek His Kingdom and His righteousness first and all other things shall be added unto us. Let us seek His ruling power to fill and control us; let us seek His holy and righteous Spirit to thrill and flow through us and never seek any worldly goods and pleasure; for the Lord Himself is our satisfying portion. Praise His Matchless Name.
Psalm 69:32 gives us another blessed benefit of seeking God and that is, “The humble shall see this (verse 30) and be glad: and your hearts shall live and seek God.” Do you know what terrible thing a dead heart is? When you hear people say, “I don’t feel the glory of the Lord in my heart, there is no joy in my soul, I cannot pray, my heart seems-to be empty of reverence and devotion, and I am so cold and dead spiritually.” They mean in plain words; their heart is dead. But not so with those who seek not blessings, but the blessed Lord Himself; their heart shall live with the Spirit of praise, thanksgiving and gladness. Oh! What a blessing to have a heart full of divine courage and power, let us seek the Lord and He will give us that kind of a heart.
Now we will see that there is not only provision of all needed material things for those who seek God, not only spiritual inward blessings, but something still more needed. In Proverbs 28:5 we read, “Evil men understood not judgement, but they that seek the Lord understand all things.” Just think, understanding all things. What a blessing! No more a puzzled life, no more wondering about unknown things, no anxiety for what to do, where to go and what to have because you understand all things.
To understand Gods ways and will, is a great gain for a devotional person; to understand God’s word is still more valuable this, God says will be the portion of those who dare to seek Him. When we get into difficult matters how we run to and fro, to this man and to that man for council, just because we forget that God alone is the wonderful Counsellor. Seeking information from men brings us into a worse struggle and puzzle, but when we learn from day to day to go to God in prayer and seek His face only we will be blessedly delivered from all such misunderstandings. Yea, the reason so many of God’s people are stumbling, falling, discouraged and puzzled, is because they are seeking after the things of this life instead of seeking God.
Let us then seek God and be no more stupid. Let us seek Him, who is the all wise God that we may be well fed, that we may be well blest in heart and that we may understand all things.
While seeking God means such a great blessing, yet on the other hand, neglecting to seek God is a terrible thing and it will bring a great curse. The Lord’s own words are, “For the people turneth not unto Him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of host,” what then? Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.” Isaiah 9:13-14. Again, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near;” why so? Because, “They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; pit they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them.” Hosea 5:6. In these two last references, we are not only commanded to seek the Lord, but to do it at once, or else, we may lose the day of His gracious visitation and then suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy.
When the apostle said, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation,” he did not tell this to unbelievers, but to the Saved Ones, “The holy brethren.” Yea, we may escape the bad consequences of this life somehow and somewhere; but we can never escape the terrible loss of neglecting seeking God. This big loss will be not only the lot of -every ordinary believer, but of the ministers too. Jeremiah says, “For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought (seek) the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.” Jeremiah 10:21. This is the reason why some good established assemblies go to pieces under some ministers. The ministers that think and seek to make an easy living by their preaching and work hard to build up a work to support them, they will finally destroy the work of the Lord; but a preacher who is working solely for the salvation of precious souls and is seeking God not only for himself, but for his flock also, will prosper abundantly, though slow but sure.
Oh! For a band of ministers, who will be spent and not seek to be spared.
There is a right way and a wrong way of seeking God. Many through ignorance are seeking God without any avail and wonder why they don’t find God’s presence and favor, though they seek hard after Him. Such a class of wrong seekers has always been in existence. The first one was Cain, whose sacrifice was rejected by the Almighty, because of the sin of jealousy and selfishness were behind his seeking. Isaiah, the prophet speaking of this class sayeth, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins.” “Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.” God knowing their purpose behind their prayers and fasting sayeth, “Behold, ye fast for strife and debate and to smite with a fist of wickedness; ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.” So God rejects their wrong seeking. St. James also speaking of this class sayeth, “Ye ask, and ye receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” So there is a wrong way of seeking.
But there is a right way of seeking God also which brings God’s presence and power down, of this way Jeremiah in speaking said, “Then shall ye call upon me, and shall ye go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you and ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13. When our whole heart is taken up with God and longing for Him and Him only; there will be no place left for selfish purposes and this is the condition which brings down the blessing.
Daniel was a beautiful example for those who wish to seek rightly, his own testimony is, and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, by fasting and sackcloth and ashes: and I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession.” etc., etc. Here we see the right attitude for seeking God, which brings down God’s glory. Daniel’s life, from what we read was spotless and yet when he approaches God we see he confesses his and his peoples’ sins. So the secret of seeking God rightly and bringing Him down in our lives with His quickening power and grace is humility of heart and brokenness of spirit, yea, a life of meekness; righteousness and dependent on Him, who is to be sought after until He is found. See Isaiah 57:15.
Let us seek not gifts and blessings, but the Blesser, not healing, or good feeling but Christ Himself, who is our health and life. Seek not your own, but seek God for others as well as for yourself. We are living in perilous times, people are lovers of themselves, greedy, and are seeking pleasure more than God. Yea, they are wicked and the psalmist said of them rightly when he prophesied saying, “The wicked through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God (why? Because) “God is not in all his thoughts.” Psalm 10:7. Mind you, God is in some of his thoughts, he thinks of God once in a while, but not always; that is when he gets in trouble. When fear compasses him then he begins to think of God, otherwise he thinks of what to eat, what to put on, where to go, how to make an easy living and how to become some great fellow. God says such an one is wicked, such a one forgets God in his prosperity and such a one shall be turned into hell. See Psalm 9:17.
How is it with your heart? Can you say like David of old—”When thou saidst, seek ye my face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord will I seek. Is this the waiting response of your heart for an all-night prayer meeting? Is this your heart’s respond for a day of fasting and prayer, or what are you longing after? God? Or the things of God? Remember, the way to get God’s blessings is to seek God Himself. Many are seeking power and authority of God, but few are seeking meekness, righteousness and judgment.
The writer has been in difficulties that would have been impossible to surmount, but when he gave himself to seeking God and deliverance, he received the deliverance that comes from God’s own presence. One time when we were called to a place for a revival, God told us not to seek a revival, neither salvation of souls, but, seek Him only. When we did so, we received one of the greatest revivals of our humble ministry, we saw the power and glory of God abundantly and God came down with His majestic power and presence, then it was not hard to get souls thru to God, sick healed and the gain-sayers mouths stopped.
“Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His Judgment: Seek meekness: it may ye shall be his in the day of the Lord’s anger.”
The above article, “Seeking God” was written by Andrew D. Urshan. The article was excerpted from chapter seventeen in Urshan’s book The Supreme Need of the Hour.
The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.
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