As I headed out into the dark morning for my walk yesterday, I asked God to give me the strength to do what I didn’t feel like doing. It has rained all week. It was cold, wet and dark outside. I also asked Him to give me something to meditate on so my mind would not be consumed with the weather.
I recited the Philippians verse He laid on my heart Monday morning but then God put a worship chorus in my head and that was the back ground music for my walk.
As the chorus repeated over and over God began to help me break it down. He really burdened my heart with the conviction of truly seeking Him, not just His will for my life, my purpose or my calling, but truly seeking Him.
You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking you as a precious jewel
Lord to give up I’d be a fool
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is your name
I find it no coincidence that my morning devotional was on just this topic. When God called Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand that he release the Hebrews, Moses asked God who he was to say sent him. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that I AM sent him. This devotional was all about whom God is, not the gifts or talents of Moses or even the relationship he had with Pharaoh, but it was all about God and who He is.
God is our strength.
I don’t know what you need strength for right now in your life. Maybe you have a big decision to make and you need God’s strength to make the right decision. Maybe you need strength to grieve a loss. Maybe like me, you need physical strength to move your body-God’s holy temple.
Whatever you need God’s strength for, go before Him and ask! He is always willing to give us His strength when we seek Him.
Isaiah 12:12
Isaiah 33:2
Isaiah 40:29-31
Psalm 46:1
Psalm 22:19
Psalm 28:7-8
Psalm 118:4
Psalm 119:28
Habakkuk 3:19
God is our treasure.
Part of the definition the dictionary gives us for treasure is something of great value; a person who is esteemed as rare and precious.
Do you esteem (respect, regard) God as someone rare, precious and of great value? I think it is easy for us to disregard God. We know He is always there for us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. This is one of the many great character qualities of our awesome God, but do we disregard that quality, therefor disregarding God? Do we treasure God in the same way we do our earthly relationships? Do we seek God like we would seek precious treasure? Is He really of the greatest value in our lives?
Matthew 13:44
Proverbs 2:4-5
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Colossians 2:2-3
Proverbs 3:13-15
God is our all in all.
Jesus Christ is all we need. If we have Him there really is nothing else that we need. Yet, we are a society that is so consumer driven. We want the next best thing. The latest gadget. The bigger house and newer car. This consumer mentality has seeped its way into our churches and theology. For many, Jesus alone is not enough. Too many people seek to add to Jesus and His gospel. Do we truly believe God is our everything? Do we believe that Jesus is all we need?
Colossians 1:15-23
Philippians 1:21
Philippians 3:7-11
Philippians 4:19
2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus is the Lamb of God.
Why is this so significant to us? Long before the first coming of Jesus our Messiah the Jews participated in a sacrificial system. Every day a lamb was brought to the temple and sacrificed for the atonement of the sins of the people. During the Jewish Passover Feast an unblemished lamb was sacrificed in remembrance of God’s deliverance of His people.
These daily sacrifices as well as the Passover Feast pointed to the prophecy and fulfillment of Jesus being our perfect sacrificial Lamb who would atone for all sins for all time. God sacrificed His one and only Son so that we would have forgiveness of our sins. Scripture tells us that the wages of sin is death. This is not a physical death, but a spiritual death and separation from God. We do not have to pay this wage. Jesus paid it for us; we just need to accept His sacrifice on our behalf.
Isaiah 53:5-12
John 1:29
John 1:36
Romans 8:3
Hebrews 10
His name is worthy.
Scripture tells us that there is no other name under heaven by which we are saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus is our Savior, our only way to God (John 14:6). There is no one like Jesus (Jeremiah 10:6, Philippians 2:9-11). His name has power and authority (John 14:13, Acts 4:30, Luke 10:17, Romans 10:13). Jesus is worthy of our everything.
God laid it upon my heart to devote more time in truly seeking Him. I see this as getting to know someone on a deeper level. It has been many years since the dating scene for me, but I can remember wanting to know everything about a new interest in my life. That is the way I should approach my relationship with God. I need to truly seek out who He is, not just what He can do for me. As I seek to know Him on a more intimate level He will reveal more of Himself to me, as well as His plans and purpose for my life. Seeking Him truly does reveal the desires of my own heart.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Let us make this a year of truly seeking God as the treasure that He is.
Lord, give me a heart that desires to seek You. You are gracious with your blessings and provisions, but it is Your heart I desire to know. Reveal Yourself to me in ways I have never seen before.