The Scriptures tell us that ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’ are those who keep God’s testimonies, and those who seek God with their whole heart:
Blessed (happy) are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart. (Psalms 119:2)
That word ‘keep’ is the Hebrew word ‘natsar’ (Strong’s #5341), which means to guard, protect, maintain, observe, obey.
If we desire to please God by keeping, guarding, obeying His testimonies; if we want to walk with Him and do what He has called us to DO, then we must begin to ‘seek‘ Him! We must begin to find out what His written Word [the Bible] says. We must begin to seek out what God says, His testimonies — seeking Him with our whole heart, seeking what He tells us in His Word!
But what does it really mean, to seek God?
When we seek God, we are searching and studying His written Word, seeking Him and inquiring of Him through prayer and supplication. We are searching in His Word [the Bible] — the WORD of Yahuwah Elohim [the Hebrew name for the LORD God]. And it is this WORD was made flesh and dwelt among us; this WORD is the person – Yahushua Messiah [the Hebrew name for Jesus Christ] (John 1:1,14).
How do we seek Him with our whole heart?
Whole-Heartedly
When we seek for something with a ‘whole heart‘, then we are searching with great desire, diligence, and with a passion, and even with a measure of agony. ALL our attention and energy will be focused on the one thing we are seeking!
Yahushua Messiah [Jesus Christ] told a story of a woman who lost one coin, and so she sought for it diligently:
Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. (Luke 15:8-9)
From the above Scripture example, we can be certain that ‘seeking diligently’ is seeking with a ‘whole‘ heart. Seeking diligently is not half-hearted seeking!
What do we do, when we lose something valuable?
We search diligently and intensely!! Right?
Yes! We look desperately, anxiously, searching and seeking until we find the lost treasure!
This is the way we are to seek God — diligently, intensely, passionately!
Those who find the Words of Messiah find His life and power (Hebrews 4:12). These come to know God because they seek Him with ALL their heart.
Here is a clue that Father has given us:
And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
The above Scripture tells us that we will find God, if we search for Him with all our heart!
Seek and You Shall Find
If we are going to seek our Heavenly Father with ALL our heart, then we must have an earnest, intense, and concentrated desire to find Him — a consuming desire to search for Him, as searching persistently for great treasure!
We need to have such an intense desire that we are willing to overcome any difficulties (Acts 14:22). Our heart must be FULL of desire to know God, to understand Him, obey His Word, and become His friend. We need to search deliberately, thoroughly, and patiently, until we know that we have found Him, the One Who is our greatest treasure! (see Proverbs 2)
If we are to seek Him, we must not be satisfied with an impersonal, formal, overinflated ‘religious’ ceremony that claims to ‘make things right.’ We must not be satisfied with man‘s definition of ‘finding God’ or man‘s definition of being ‘right with God’.
Instead, we must yearn to know God and His presence, according to the Scriptures!
That means seeking Him for ourselves, personally!
Finding Yahuwah will happen only when we are desperate to know Him, desperate to know Him as a person, and to know His truth, for ourselves!
It is possible to know God! — to know Him, to love Him, and to know His character and His ways! He wants us to know Him:
Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)
As this passage encourages us, God promises to reward those who ask of Him and seek Him.
We can grow in our knowledge of God.
We can become better acquainted with Him everyday, by studying/obeying His Words, and by crying out to Him in our prayer closet, asking Him to show Himself to us.
It is through His written WORD alone that we come to know Him, IF we truly want to know Him.
But we need to persistently search for Him with all our heart!
Yahuwah Elohim wants a relationship with each one of us! This has always been His desire:
You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: And you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. (Exodus 19:4-6a)
God is faithful, by whom you were called unto the fellowship of His Son Yahushua Messiah [Jesus Christ] our Lord. (1Corinthians 1:9)
If You Love Me
Look at what God has told us:
- You shall call upon Me [Yahuwah Elohim (the LORD God)], and you shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart! And I will be found of you, saith Yahuwah [the LORD]. (Jeremiah 29:12-14a)
- Be still (cease fretting, cease resisting), and know that I am God. (Psalms 46:10a)
- Keep My Sabbaths holy, [set-apart as special]; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am Yahuwah [the LORD] your God. (Ezekiel 20:20)
- Know ye that Yahuwah He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. (Psalms 100:3)
- And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Yahushua Messiah [Jesus Christ], whom You have sent. (John 17:3)
- If ye love Me, keep [obey] My commandments. (John 14:15)
As these verses tell us, all who genuinely seek to know Yahuwah Elohim [the LORD God] — all who seek to love Him and understand Him — they are the ones who choose to believe His Son, Yahushua Messiah [Jesus Christ], and choose to keep and obey His testimonies and His commandments.
But we must begin to earnestly seek Him by prayer, by reading/studying His WORD in the written Scriptures, and by obeying Him — this is seeking Him with ALL our heart! We do this one-step-at-a-time, little by little, every day, seeking Him for His wisdom and guidance.
Anyone who desires to know God will have a strong commitment and attitude to search for Him, setting aside time each day to wait on Him in prayer and the reading of His written Word!
Our seeking to know God needs to be persistent, even forceful! We must cry out to Him for understanding, strength, and patience! Otherwise we will not overcome our own weaknesses, nor the temptation to give up.
Remember too —
God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
His Ways of revealing Himself to us will not be according to our own ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).
So be prepared to seek Him with patience! Searching for God takes studying and reading the Bible for ourselves, reading it prayerfully, over and over, soaking our mind and heart in His Words (Psalms 119:11).
Have you ever wondered why God hides Himself, while only giving out clues here and there?
It is because He yearns for those who are serious, those who truly desire to know Him, according to His Word!!
Father God longs for children who truly want to love Him, and show their love for Him. We do this by beginning to be obedient (even in very small ways) to His ‘House Rules’ — the guidelines given to His family, written in the Scriptures!
“The most crucial danger to a Christian, whatever his role, is to lack a passion for Christ. The most direct route to personal renewal and new effectiveness is a new, all-consuming passion for our Saviour. O Lord, give us this passion, whatever the cost!” — Wesley L. Duewel
The Rewarder
Getting to know God personally results in an ever-increasing, inner peace.
Knowing God results in an assurance of His love and guidance!
Learning God’s Word and His Ways, and walking in His truth brings a contentment to our life that surpasses understanding!
Therefore, let us take firm hold of His promise:
Yahuwah IS a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him! (Hebrews 11:6; see also Psalms 119:165)
The apostle Paul sought Messiah, and found Him.
Paul was willing to suffer the loss of all things, counting them as rubbish, in order to gain the supremely excellent fellowship and friendship of Messiah Yahushua [Christ Jesus] (Philippians 3:8).
May it be, Dear Thirsty Soul, that you and I will have the same, all-consuming desire and passion that Paul had!
Let us press in and search for Yahuwah Elohim, through His Son, Yahushua Messiah (John 14:6; 2John 1:9).
Let us pray for a passion to search for God, the Holy One of Israel, seeking Him diligently — with ALL our heart — until we know that we know that we have found Him!
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Related Articles:
- Guard Your Heart With All Diligence! – 4 Tips
- How Can I Satisfy My Thirsty Soul?
- 4 Keys to Discerning the Guidance of the Holy Spirit
- Enduring As Seeing Him Who Is Invisible
- Acquiring A Teachable Heart
- Seven Biblical Guidelines for Studying the Bible – excellent insights for learning how to study God’s Word for ourselves
- Ten Blessings For Good Character
- Blessed Are They That Hear and Keep God’s Word
- Water The Dry Ground of Your Heart – a 1½ hour teaching video by Natan Lawrence
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