Our recent move to our new house has been hard. The long period of transitioning from one house to another is grueling mentally, emotionally and physically. I told My wife, Sherri, that I was sure I had lost weight, but I couldn’t verify it because we cannot find our bathroom scales. Not being able to find things is a stress producer. I could not find ten boxes of test strips that I need to check my blood sugar. Sherri finally found them. Now I am looking for three pocket knives that Sherri’s dad gave me many years ago. Two of them are the fiftieth year commemorative knives of the running of the Kentucky Derby. They have red handles with a small brass image of our state embedded. I wouldn’t take anything for them. The other knife is one to carry in case I need to use it for something. The last time I used it, which was not long after he gave it to me, I almost cut my thumb off. I required stitches and had to go through weeks of therapy because I had nerve damage. After that I laid it to rest with my Kentucky Derby knives. Any way moving usually leads to intense searching.
This move has coincided with my reading of First and Second Chronicles which is basically a history of Judah and Israel and how the two nations’ kings led them. The leadership of these kings usually determined how the people obeyed the laws of God. In these scriptures for every man who became king one of two things was said about him when they were introduced; Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord, or Jehoram did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Unfortunately, many of the kings, especially those of Israel did evil in God’s eyes, and the people did evil as well.
Asa was one of the good ones. Here is a verse that spoke to me when I read it. “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God...He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands.” 2 Chronicles 14:2,4 The result was that Judah prospered, and they knew peace during Asa’s reign.
“They sought God EAGERLY, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side. 2 Chronicles 15:15.
“Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.” 2 Chronicles 15:17.
Wouldn’t it be great to have political leaders like Asa? He searched for God, and the people eagerly searched for God. But they were not alone in searching. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord range (search) throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” God is looking for people who are fully committed to him.
A person will not be fully committed to God unless he or she is daily searching for him. Seek God as though you are looking for something valuable, something that means a lot to you, something you cherish. Do this and you will find him. I try to seek God each day. I just wonder, am I searching for God as fervently as I’ve been looking for those knives? Am I as worried about finding God in my life as I am about finding things that I’ve lost? I hope so. It is something we should think about don’t you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment