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…6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…ready or not, here I come!
Didn’t you love a good game of Hide and Seek when you were a kid? I know I did. I remember liking the hiding part much better than being the seeker, however. Seeking was more difficult, took more time, energy, and wits— especially if I was up against good hiders. And, each game seemed to have its equal share of skillful hiders, and poor hiders.
The thrill of the game always came when everyone was found. No one wanted to be found, of course, but the seeker always did all he or she could to find the hiders. As a seeker, you couldn’t hold back or give up– otherwise, you’d be left wandering around for quite some time!
I recently heard someone share a memory of a time she played hide and seek with some sports teammates. A good game turned sour as she, the seeker, was left alone outside for over an hour because unbeknownst to her, the hiders had decided to forsake the game and go inside to watch TV.
Despite her best efforts and her persistence, she didn’t find the hiders because they were no longer hiding; they did not want to be found. Even though she tried her hardest, they didn’t care whether she found them or not.
Sister– this is not our God.
God calls us to seek Him, but He isn’t hiding. He doesn’t call us to come and find Him, yet change locations or change the rules of the game. He wants nothing more than to be found by His beloved.
The Importance of Seeking God
Seeking God isn’t a game. It’s a decision on our part that affects the trajectory of our lives on a daily basis. The Lord knows the beginning and the end. He has the strength, knowledge, and power that we do not.
When we seek God, we’re able to fully tap into the wisdom and power that He so freely wants to display through us. When we choose to do things on our own, we easily fail; or worse– we succeed, but He gets none of the glory.
One thing we can clearly see when studying the Bible is that there are those who seek God, rely on Him, and do right in the eyes of the Lord; and, there are those who don’t. But, more deeply relatable than that are the countless biblical figures who lived their lives as a mix of both– sometimes seeking, sometimes neglecting.
I think we all fall somewhere along those lines, right, sister?
One such person is Asa. The account of his story that I’ll reference can be found in 2 Chronicles 14-16. Before diving into the rest of this article, I’d encourage you to open your Bible and read it so you can follow along with my observations.
What happens when we seek God?
Asa was king over the southern kingdom of Israel, namely, Judah. He was Solomon’s great-grandson. 2 Chronicles 14:2 and 1 Kings 15:11 says he did right in the sight of the Lord. As we’ll see, Asa spent many years of his reign seeking God.
The Bible promises that when we seek God with all of our hearts and souls, we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29).
So, what does finding Him look like?
Looking through the lens of King Asa’s reign, here are a few things that happen when we seek God:
#1: We live righteously.
(2 Chronicles 14:3-5)
Seeking God puts us in a position to have a strong desire to do what is right, removing the things from our lives that the Lord hates. We pursue righteousness. We see that Asa removed the altars, pillars, and anything leading to the worship of idols. His heart was devoted to the Lord, and he wanted his people to do the same.
When we seek God, we desire to honor Him in our actions. Not only did Asa remove the places of idol worship, but he also restored the altar of the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:8) and commanded the people of Judah to keep the law and seek God (2 Chronicles 14:4).
RELATED: HOW TO PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS
#2: We encourage others to seek God.
(2 Chronicles 14:4)
When our heart is rightly turned towards and devoted to the Lord, we desire for those in our midst to do the same. Seeking God allows us to see more clearly His majesty, wisdom, and faithfulness. How could we not want others to experience these things as well?
Asa knew that seeking God was in the people’s best interest. Keeping the law wasn’t a way to punish them; it was God’s way of protecting them.
#3: The Lord gives us rest.
(2 Chronicles 14:6-7)
Chapter 14 verse 7 tells us that because the people of Judah sought God, He gave them rest. You see, sister, there is safety under the shadow of His wings. There is protection in His presence and in His will. We just have to seek it; seek HIM.
I believe that many times we’re stressed, frazzled, and weary because we’re trying to fix our own circumstances instead of relying on the Lord. In these times, we must seek Him. When we look for Him, He will be found, bringing us clarity, comfort, and wisdom for what we’re facing.
We’ll find the peace of God, and in that peace, we find rest.
#4: Our trust in Him grows.
(2 Chronicles 14:11)
Did you ever play dodgeball? Have you ever been the last one standing on your team, and you’re up against 3-4 players from the other side? As they all face you with balls ready to launch, it kind of feels like “you against the world”, does it not? They clearly have the advantage over you, and there are just a handful of tactics you can implement to ensure a win for your team.
Well, King Asa faced a very real “dodgeball” moment in his reign. An Ethiopian army with one million men came up against him and his men in Judah. Asa’s army was half the size. He could have given up or retreated, being afraid. Yet, he called out to the Lord for help.
“LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; help us, LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You.”
Because Asa had practiced seeking God, he not only had an accurate view of the Lord’s strength and power, but also his own weakness and dependence. Asa knew it would only be by the Lord’s hand that they’d secure a victory over this huge army. He put his full trust in the Lord, and allowed God to work.
#5: We help others see God’s faithfulness.
(2 Chronicles 15:9)
Asa was king over Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel (read more about Israel’s northern and southern kingdoms during that time, here). Yet, verse 9 tells us that many from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
The fact that King Asa was doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord drew others to his side of the fence. They saw that Asa not only sought the Lord, but he also chose to abide in the Lord as well, drawing strength and discernment from Him in the way he reformed the land.
And, the same is true for us. When we follow the Lord with conviction and boldness, being faithful to what He is calling us to do, others notice. They see our commitment to Him and His ways, and our commitment to living a lifestyle that glorifies Him— and they can’t help but to come along for the ride.
People don’t want to see a “one foot in, one foot out” kind of faith. When we show them we’re all in for Jesus, it helps them believe that this God we follow is also all in for us.
SEEK GOD & HIS FAITHFULNESS IN THE PSALMS
So many truths about the Lord can be found in the Psalms. Dive deeper into the Word and focus on God’s tremendous love for you in this 16-page Bible Study of the Psalms. Fill out the form below.
A warning: When we don’t seek God
(2 Chronicles 16)
But sister, as we continue to read Asa’s account, there’s a warning here, and it goes like this:
When we don’t continue to seek God, bad things happen.
Because of Asa’s faithfulness to the Lord, God gave him rest until the 35th year of his reign. But, in his 36th year, King Baasha of Israel makes moves against Judah. Instead of trusting in God and calling out to Him as Asa did with the Ethiopian army (2 Chronicles 14:11), he relies on a foreign land to help him win.
He bribes this foreign land with treasures from the Lord’s house, convinces them to break their treaty with Israel, and to instead make a treaty with Judah (2 Chronicles 16:2-3). His plan is a success, and this foreign land helps him overcome Israel.
That’s great right? No, definitely not.
Asa and the people of Judah (as well as those who came from various places in the northern kingdom) had entered into the convent with the Lord during his 15th year of reign. They vowed to rely on and seek God— not just one time, but always.
Yet, here we see Asa calling out to another man instead of calling out to God. He chose to put the people’s safety and trust into the hand of another king, not the King of kings.
And for this grave mistake, something bad happened; not just during that war (2 Chronicles 16:7), but something that would be ongoing.
“For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars. ”
The Lord would take away Asa’s rest.
The rest that came because he chose to seek God would now be gone, due to the fact that he forsook his commitment to seeking God (2 Chronicles 16:9). Asa’s reign would from then on be sprinkled with wars.
Purpose to Seek God, sister!
The Lord is searching for us. He desires to strongly support us. Will we be found as one whose heart is completely His?
Will we abide in Him continually, or will we take matters into our own hands?
We can see in Asa’s life that there is a clear distinction between seeking God, and relying on ourselves or others. Even at the end of his life, as he lay with a disease, he again chose not to seek God— and he died.
Sister, once we get into the habit of not seeking God, it becomes easier and easier to do.
Thankfully, the other side of the coin is just as true. If we are mindful to put the Lord first in our decisions and actions, calling out to Him amidst our troubles, we’ll seek Him. And as we continue to see His faithfulness towards us, it gets easier and easier to place our trust in Him each time in the future.
I exhort you, sister, above all else— seek Him.
Seek His Word, His truth, and all that He is.
Purpose to know Him.
The more you know the Lord, the more you'll yearn to please Him, and not yourself. In pleasing God, you will see just how pleasing He is to you.
Our God is not hiding. He wants to be found. He wants to be known by you. So sister, don’t hide from Him. Let Him find you in a place where you are searching for Him.
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Bible verses about Seeking God
Here’s some extra encouragement! Allow these Bible verses about seeking God to remind you of His promises toward those who diligently look for Him and trust Him.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. -Psalm 14:2 (ESV)
But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. -Deuteronomy 4:29 (ESV)
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. -Psalm 63:1 (ESV)
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! -1 Chronicles 16:10-11 (ESV)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. -Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
Life events, trauma, and stress produce real emotions that we have. Anything we face that causes us to cope with an unwanted reality can cause distress. So what can we do about it?