SEEKING THE LORD
     The act of seeking is a part of every individual.  From the earliest age when we gain the ability to hunt we begin to seek after objects of value.  Watch an infant as they develop and there is that ability to hunt for their thumb or the mother's breast.  As they grow older they begin to look for other things necessary for their well being or usefulness.  The importance of the objects sought will grow as the person grows from childhood into adulthood.
     More important than seeking and finding material things is the need for God.  At some point everyone comes to understand their need for God.  The level of God's importance in the individual's life will dictate how diligently the search for God is conducted.  Many will acknowledge a need to have a relationship with God but their search is based on their own standard.  When they feel comfortable and think they have reached a level of comfort of how God is allowed to fit into their life, they stop searching.
     Ceasing from searching for anything is natural to a point.  If we are searching for an object that can be touched and handled, it is obvious the search for that object need not continue once it is found.  This is where our search for God is different.  God cannot be handled or touched (Jn. 4:24).  Yet He can be found.  So the question becomes, "How real is God to us and how diligently are we willing to search for Him?"
     The psalmist says "I sought the Lord and He heard me..(34:4).  When seeking the Lord it becomes important to understand what it really means to do so.  In Deuteronomy Israel was told, "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul (4:29).  Then is the exhortation, "seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near (Is. 55:6).  In New Testament Scripture we read, "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27).
     The basic meaning of all of these Scriptures as well as others tells us the meaning of seeking the Lord is to seek Him according to truth, His truth.  One Scripture quoted most often is, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things will be added unto you" (Mt. 6:33).  When we seek His righteousness we must seek after His truth.  If we want the Lord to hear us we must seek Him according to the way He has set forth. 
     The Lord has promised those who diligently seek Him will find Him (Lu. 11:10), and upon finding Him our search must continue as we then seek to grow in our knowledge of Him, and correctly apply that new knowledge to our daily walk.  To know God is to know His truth, and that knowledge is revealed to us as we seek Him in His word.   Rodger