Devotion: The God Of Peace

Scripture tells us “those who come to God must believe that he is or that he exists” (Hebrews 11:6).  That all sounds good, because those who come to God, most of the time, do believe that he does exists.  We are also told that those who come must believe that “he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).  If we come to God believing that he exists, then why is there a need for us to seek him?  Not only are we “to seek” him but we are “to diligently” seek him.  “Diligently” means “to carefully, attentively, thoroughly, conscientiously, and very meticulously search for something.”  If we come to God already believing that he is and that he exists, then why do we have to seek him?  One would think that if we come to God, believing that he exists, then we would have sought him in order to come to him in the first place.  Apparently, this be not the case because we are told “to diligently seek” him.  In diligently seeking God, what exactly are we to look for?

“To diligently seek” God infers that we have to do a little more than just a casual attempt to find him.  God wants us “to carefully, attentively, thoroughly, conscientiously, and very meticulously search for him.”  But what are we to look for in our search?  “ANY AND EVERYTHING AS IT PERTAINS TO GOD.”  God wants us to find everything we can find about him.  God wants us “to diligently seek” his heart, his face, and his holy presence.  God wants us “to diligently seek” his fellowship, his love, and his rest.  Contrary to some popular teachings, God wants us to fully and completely understand him, his ways, and his thoughts.  Traditional teachings have convinced us that we can never understand the thoughts and ways of God.  We have been taught, “God’s ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).  The misinterpretation and the misapplication of this scripture and others alike have contributed greatly to our “destruction” (Hosea 4:6).  Because we have been taught that we, a finite being, could never understand the ways and thoughts of God, an infinite being, we only casually attempt to find God.  We don’t even realize that our casual attempts to seek God are directly reflective of our faith, or the lack thereof.  The traditional interpretation of this passage is contradictory to what God has told us to do, “to diligently seek” him.  Are we to believe the traditional interpretations about understanding God?  Alternatively, are we to, by faith, believe God and that he will reward all who “diligently seek” him (Hebrews 11:6)?

Therefore, how do we “diligently seek” God?  How do we find everything we can find about God?  Where are we to look for those things that pertain to God?  We look to the one source of information that we have.  We look to the Bible for the information that we need.  But first, there are some things that we need to understand about the Bible.  We know that the Bible contains God’s instructions for man.  What most people do not know is that the Bible contains instructions for three different people groups.  There are instructions in the Bible for the Jews.  There are instructions in the Bible for the Gentiles, considered to be the sinners.  And there are instructions in the Bible for “the children of God” (Ephesians 2:14-22).  So, depending on which people group you consider yourself a part of determines which set of instructions you are to follow.  But before you jump on any bandwagons claiming to be of a particular people group, here are a few things for you to consider.  First, everyone is a creation of God but not everyone is a child of God.  Second, in order to be a child of God, “you must be born again or born from above and born of the Spirit” (John 3:3-5).  Only the true children of God have been given the right “to come boldly and confidently to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16).  Knowing these facts in part, may prove very valuable for those who “diligently seek” God.

As we “diligently seek” him, God wants us “to attend to his words” (Proverbs 4:20-22).  When we attend to his words, we need to listen carefully to his words and we need to pay close attention to what is being said as we meticulously and conscientiously search for God.  This painstaking search would be much like a prospector searching for gold.  The prophet Azariah gave us these instructions; “If you seek him, he will be found by you” (II Chronicles 15:2).  Azariah was referring to us seeking and finding God.  God tells us that when we seek him, we will find him, when we search for him with “all our heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13).  But we will only find him provided we search for him with “all our heart” and with “all our soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).  As we “diligently seek” and draw near to God, God will reveal himself to us.  God does not hide himself from those who truly seek him with all of their being, with all their heart, and with all their soul.  We know for sure that time is going to pass independent of our actions, so why not put this passing time to good use.  Why not use this passing time to find out all you can about God and the things of God?  The end result may be worth the effort and well worth your time.  It just might take you to the level where your ways and your thoughts become more in line with those of God.  It might just take you to a level where the peace of God, which goes beyond anything you can imagine, will guard and keep your thoughts and emotions, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.  If you do this, you just might experience God’s peace.

May our commentary abundantly bless you and greatly inform you.  We pray that you will be the better for having read them both.  If blessed by today’s message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW