God's Deep Longing to Be Found

All of us who have followed Jesus for any length of time - and even those who haven't -  have said to ourselves (or maybe out loud), "God feels so far away right now.  He seems so distant. Why can't I sense His presence? Why won't He give me some kind of sign that He hears me at all?"

And we assume it is Him.  

We think it must be Him who withholds a sense of His nearness. "He's just playing the God card on us," we mumble. "God with us" is pulling away and strangely absent, or so it seems. Certainly, there are times when His presence in our life is grieved by our sin or neglect.  

But He does not leave us.  Not for a moment.  

We must see and feel past the emotion - which is, admittedly, not easy - and trust His promise of ever-presence.

God always wants to be found. Always.

He is ever seeking and longing for the ones He loves to find Him.  And not just for the sake of being found, but because He knows that He is the only Place and Person ultimately worth finding.

He is pure Treasure.

Consider the star over Bethlehem.  Jesus arrived on the scene in a humble manger, surrounded by smelly animals, dirty hay and two exhausted parents.  It's dark, cold, quiet, and simple.  And I'm guessing, after the long, arduous journey, the delivery, and the mess, all anybody wanted to do was get some sleep.

But God wanted to be found.

It wasn't a moment for the Trinity to bask in alone.  This was about the ones He came to seek and save. God Himself placed a bright star over Bethlehem so those who sought Him would know exactly where to find Him. And if that wasn't enough, He sent a host of heavenly angels to proclaim Jesus' birth to a bunch of rag-tag shepherds, so they, too, would come.

But these weren't just invitations to come check things out and see what all the commotion was about. It wasn't an invite to be a spectator.

It was an invitation to worship.

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him." (John 4: 23)

 And it is no different today.  

He may not give us a star shining overhead to lead us to Him. But He gives us His unfailing Word, the beauty of His creation, His ever-beckoning heart, His unfathomable love, the comfort and voice of His Spirit.  

He even allows for suffering, for gut-wrenching desperation, for the utterly horrible moments of feeling like He is starkly absent - not so we will run from Him, but because He hopes these dark allowances will help us run to Him and find Him as the greatest, most satisfying treasure of all.

Nowhere does God say it will be easy, though. It wasn't convenient and most likely caused great hardship for the wise men to travel for months and months to find this Christ child. It's not the kind of thing you put on your calendar and have set aside vacation money for. The shepherds certainly had to figure out the logistics of dealing with their flocks - their very livelihood - while they sought this King. Mary faced devastating shame and rejection because of her willingness to be a single, pregnant virgin in that culture. Joseph risked his reputation by continuing to stay with Mary at all.  

They were all, in a sense, stripped bare.  But they each knew it was worth it.  He was worth it.

 Jesus was worthy.  They were responding to a God who was asking to be found and to be received. They were answering the call of irresistible Love. And it will hardly ever place you on the path of least resistance.

So, what say us?  

Could we dare believe that He is always waiting to be found?  That He seeks us as we are seeking Him?  Could it be that as we risk all, give all, and trust all our hearts to Him that in worshipping Him we might realize our only true source of joy?

The journey to continually find Him will most likely not be absent of trial or heartache. It could even be said to be reckless.  But it will certainly be unimaginably rich and immersed in abundant grace and delight.  

It is the most wonderful satisfaction of all to seek and to be sought, to find and to be found...all gloriously at once!

This will not be a journey we will ever regret.  He will, at every turn, satisfy.

So, come...let us worship and bow down.  Let us kneel before the Lord, our God, our Maker.  For He is our God.  And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Join the conversation:  Would you be willing to share some way you have discovered your greatest Treasure in Christ and how that came about?  How have you sensed Him seeking You as you have sought Him?  We'd all love to hear the beautiful story!