When To Seek God? (Part 4)
[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Church Malaysia on 30 December 2018 ]
SEEK HIM ALWAYS
Read | 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
The Bible bids us to give thanks to God at all times because this is His will for us.
So when should we seek Him? The answer seems obvious — anytime, every time, in good times and in bad times.
Thanking God for good times is easy, there is even a restaurant named TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday, but let’s also thank God for bad times.
Read | Psalms 37:1-6
Sometimes we can get distracted during bad times, but God wants us to not fret with our enemies. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts and enemies will make peace with us.
Let’s worship in spirit and truth from Monday to Sunday. If we only sing praise on Sunday, then we are musicians, but we need to be worshippers.
SEEK HIM EARLY
Read | Psalm 63:1
O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
Seeking Him early does not only speak about the early time of day but also to seek Him before things happen e.g sickness, accidents. To consult Him before we even reach a stage where we have nowhere else to turn to.
Let God not be our last resort.
SEEK HIM FIRST
Read | Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Bring everything to God first before you bring anything to man.
We have experienced making the mistake of posting our anger online at the stir of the moment. Before we confide or confront others with our frustrations, let’s approach God first.
When we bring our burdens to God, likely, we do not need to bring any of it to man anymore because it is most possibly settled in His presence. And even when we approach men then, we are in a better state of mind.
SEEK HIM AFTER
Read | Psalm 92:1-2
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.
Faithfulness is revealed after things are passed – at the end of the marathon. Arriving on our bed at night shows God’s faithfulness in our day.
Seek God before the day is done. We carry many emotions in our hearts over the day – disappointments, anger, helplessness, broken dreams or sadness. But God is faithful to bring us towards another day.
Read | Ephesians 4:26
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
So before the day ends, let’s seek Him, thank Him and proclaim His faithfulness. Chances of bringing our burdens into the next day are that they turn into bitterness and vengeance. We stop letting these things fester when we deal with it. God can turn things around for us.
There was once that I remained angry for three days, and God turned my eyes inward, I caught a vision of decay in my body and I remembered to be careful to let Him guard my heart and mind.
This is a year that we want to continue to seek Him at all times and in all that we do. We can run the race of faith by looking unto Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.
Written by Writer’s Ink
Edited by Hailey Chung
