1 CHRONICLES 16:8-11 – Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 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!

THEME OF THE DAY. THE SEEKING CHRISTIAN. Christians are people of promises – God’s promises. They are the lifeblood of the Christian. The Apostle Peter calls them “precious promises” – His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (2 Peter 1:3-4). And this is not a New Testament truth only. From Genesis to Malachi, God gives promises to His children for them to embrace and enjoy. One of the most glorious and motivating is found in the major prophet book of Jeremiah. The prophet speaking of the Lord wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you”, declares the Lord (Jeremiah 29:11-14a). God promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him. This promise dovetails nicely with today’s scripture. What we are reading is David’s wonderful song of thanksgiving to the Lord.

As we read it, remember the promise of Jeremiah in seeking the Lord. David will proclaim three directions this seeking is to take. Each one is one of the many spiritual blessings and riches God has given us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

First, we seek the Lord for Himself – His Person – let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Christian, the foremost reason we seek the Lord is not to get Him to answer our prayers, give us something or do something. It is for Him; to cultivate and deepen our relationship with Him. Guard this, discipline yourself for this. We seek God to know Him. This is the fundamental truth of being a Christian.

Next, we seek the Lord for strength – His strength – Seek the Lord and His strength. We cannot do one thing of spiritual value, perform any acceptable spiritual service, or develop one single trait of Christ-likeness on our own When Jesus said in the Parable of the Vine “Without Me, you can do nothing”, that is absolute truth about all things (John 15:5). We need daily, moment-by-moment strength to live the Christian life and that strength is in the Lord, not ourselves.

Finally, David exhorts us to seek a continual awareness of the Lord’s Presence – seek His presence continually. The reason for this is what David would write of in the sixteenth psalm – You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). Christians are destined for joy, now and for eternity; it is that inward peace, rest, and contentment that is from the Lord and beyond human description but not beyond human experience. And we are called to seek it to enjoy and it is found in the presence of the Lord Jesus, now by faith through prayer and His Word, and soon by sight in heaven.

The seeking Christian. That is us. When God saves us, He places within us a hunger to seek Him – His Person, His strength, and His Presence. In doing so, we will be learning how the Christian life is to be lived – as the seeking Christian.

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for all I need is found in Your Son as I seek Him, His strength and presence.”

QUOTE: “Christ stands ready to be known and enjoyed. The reality of both lies in our discipline to seek Him.”