Finding God

                                                                                                                         

Aloha Dearest Family,

                The other day I was talking to my wife about how she first got into the Word. She said that she had been searching to know God for years and years. She would talk to anyone and go anywhere, visiting churches and Christian groups, just to find a way to know God. She even visited the local convent in hopes of becoming a nun. Maybe this would be the way to know God better (thankfully for me they talked her out of this idea). Finally God put just the right people in her path at just the right time to lead her to the truth of God’s Word. She had finally found what she so desperately searched for - a personal relationship with Him and His son Jesus Christ. Perhaps many of you came to the Word in a similar way. Her story led me to this verse of scripture,

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

The words “hunger and thirst” surely gives us an idea of the fierceness of the desire to follow after righteousness. Hunger and thirst point us to the needs of the body for without food and water we will die. Those who need to know the truth so badly that they consider it their very life, will be filled. Let’s look at Psalms 42,

..As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1 & 2)

As a deer in the wilderness thirsts for the water of the stream, the soul of the psalmist thirsts for God. What a vivid mind picture God gives us. The writer of this psalm desperately needed to know where to find God and he considered it a great need in his life. How many today have this kind of hunger for God? (also see Psalm 63:1)

I think about the record of Jesus feeding the 4,000 (Matthew 15: 32-39). Multitudes of people had stayed with Jesus for three days already and whatever food they had brought with them was now gone. I’m sure they were hungry. But no one wanted to leave Jesus to find food. Their physical needs were secondary to being with him. They would rather listen to him teach and watch him heal people. Jesus then fulfills their need and feeds them with a few loaves and fishes – a miracle to be sure. This is a great example of what it takes sometimes to find the great treasures in life. Sometimes it takes great sacrifice.

Searching the truths of God’s Word can also be like finding great treasure. Jesus tells a  couple of parables about this.

                The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13:44)
Why did the man sell all that he had just to buy this field?  Because this field had treasure hidden in it.   

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45 and 46) This pearl must have meant a great deal to the man because he sold all he had just to buy it.

These two men are great examples of the kind of deep desire it takes to find the great truths in God’s Word. What would you give to find God and His hidden treasures?

               In truth every man is born with a need in their life that can only be filled by coming to know their Creator. This need cannot be filled with success, wealth or fame. Only God can fill this void. He is not hiding but only those that diligently search for Him will find Him (Hebrews 11:6).

                Many people go to church every Sunday, going through the motions and saying all of the right prayers. To many, God is just one of the many things that they are into; like sports, video games or music. For these people, this is enough. But for those who yearn for more, God wants to reveal Himself to you in a more personal and powerful way. This way is found in the pages of the Bible. In the Bible you will find Jesus Christ. Jesus came to reveal God’s true heart to the world (John 1:18). And when you find Jesus Christ you will find the way to God.

                                                                                Love Always, Ray

                    And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)