“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 pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
This is a command to God’s people. In the Christian experience, it is possible that we can become a bit weary in well-doing due to various things. Or, perhaps we need a greater awareness of the reality of God’s presence in our lives. There might also be the need to give God the preeminence He is worthy of.
The Scripture says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
Psalm 63 is a Psalm of King David during the time he was in the wilderness of Judah. David begins the Psalm: “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. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” (Psalm 63:1-3).
At the very outset of the psalm, David acknowledges God is his God, which shows David’s love and perception of the Almighty. He says, “O God, you are my God.” It also demonstrates David’s great passion for the Eternal God. God is the Christian’s heavenly Father.
This also reveals the high value David placed on God’s love, which he regarded as being better than life. Perhaps David was referring to his personal life. Remember, David is in the wilderness “in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
David acknowledges God’s steadfast love is better than life itself. The word steadfast means resolutely firm and unwavering. This is absolutely true of God’s unconditional love.
The Scripture says this about God’s love, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16).
In Psalm 63:4, David says to God, “So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” Here David is expressing his life-long commitment to praise and honor the God of whom he declared at the beginning of the Psalm: “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you.” This strong confidence David has in God is further supported when he also stated to God “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (v. 8).
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
— Irish hymn, c. 8 century
Trans. by Mary E. Byrne, 1880-1931
Versified by Eleanor E. Hull, 1860-1935.
This familiar hymn “Be Thou My Vision” seems to mirror David’s expressed feelings about God.
Seeking the Lord actually means seeking His presence. And seeking God’s divine presence must be a priority in the lives of Christians. At times we say “I’m going to seek God’s face,” meaning “I’m going to pray.” It is God’s desire that His children seek His presence.
Psalm 27 shows David’s unwavering faith in God. In verse 4 David says, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
In seeking God’s presence, David made it his number one priority which was to “dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my earthly life.” And he continues talking to God; “You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8).
When the ark of God was placed in the tent at Jerusalem, David designated that a Psalm of thanksgiving be sung in praise to God for His blessings. The following verses were included in the thanksgiving: “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). So we see that to seek the Lord means to worship the Lord continually.
If we seek God, He will be found. God says to you and me, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me” (Proverbs 8:17). “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).
Seeking the Lord means drawing near to Him. The Bible says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). We draw near to God with a firm desire to know Him more intimately. And we draw near to God through prayer, thanksgiving and worship