What It Means to Seek God? (Part 1)

[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Church Malaysia on 2 December 2018 ]

In 2 Chronicles 12:13-14, King Rehoboam was called evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. But when we seek God wholeheartedly, He will give us rest (2 Chronicles 15:15), show us mercy (2 Chronicles 30:18-20) and prosper us (2 Chronicles 31:20-21).

Seek, and you shall find.

Seeking God is not just looking to Him. In the Hebrew language, the word “seek” has several meanings: 

Baqar – to seek with pleasure

Baqash – to seek for something that is lost or missing

Darash – to inquire or require

Chaqar – to examine intimately

Qirah – to encounter

Shachar – to wake up early for a task or to set as priority

So what does it mean to seek God?
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Price

How much value have we placed on God?
For many of the scriptures, the term Baqash is used for “seek”, which is to seek for something that is lost. If we were to lose something, what would cause us to search for it? It would depend on how valuable the object is. If it is of little value, we will likely not trouble ourselves to look for it. Have we place too little value on God? Would we search frantically for Him? The intensity of the search is determined by the level of importance of what is searched.

Priority

Is God number one in our lives?
If He is not number one, any other number doesn’t matter. He is Lord of all or not at all. If God is no longer number one in our lives, let’s lift Him back to the first place. When we remember how much He loves us, it is really not that hard to do.

Passion

Do we seek God wholeheartedly?
The Bible says to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. Let’s not just give Him a space in our hearts, but to learn to love Him with everything. 

Proximity

Do we want to be where God is? 
Draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. His name is Emmanuel, “God is with us”. While He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, are we making the same promise to God? Are we still with Him (Revelation 2:4)?

Present

Do we want to know God? 
In the Old Testament, to seek His “face” meant to seek His presence. It is also to seek His expression. When we see His face, we will know what is truly on His heart. 

Read | 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, 1 Chronicles 16:8-11, 1 Chronicles 28:9, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 2 Chronicles 11:14-16, 2 Chronicles 15:1-2, 2 Chronicles 15:13

When we seek the Lord, we will be guided to make the right decisions despite the confusion we may be going through. The opposite is also true; there are consequences when we do not seek the Lord. 

Seeking Him and putting God first is so important, not just for us but to God. 

Written by Writer’s Ink 
Edited by Hailey Chung