Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Search For God - How Can I Find Him?

   "God, where are You?" "I need You." "I want You." "How can I find You?" Is this the agonizing cry of your heart? Is your whole being reaching, searching, longing for God? But does He somehow, continually seem to elude you. and you do not find Him?
You are not alone in your search. Men everywhere and in every age have asked for God. Two thousand years ago the rich young ruler came running to Jesus and asked, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" When Peter preached at Pentecost, men asked, "What shall we do?" or "How can we find God?" Today the prevailing unrest of our turbulent world is its unvoiced cry for God and His love.
    A need universal to all humans is to find God. Our hearts will be restless until they rest in Him. No other way can peace of mind and rest of soul, be experienced than to find God and walk with Him. Jesus says, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
    We can better understand our need for God when we realize we were made by Him and for Him. None of us are fashioned exactly alike (we do not speak, think, look, or act alike): yet all of us are made in His "image and likeness" (Genesis 1:26) and with living souls that are part of God. This part longs to be in harmony with its Creator. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks so panteth my soul after Thee, 0 God: my soul thirsteth for God. for the living God . . ." (Psalm 42:1,2). Only the living God will satisfy the living soul of man!
    When David found God. he summed up his innermost feeling by saying, "... I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). His need was satisfied. He was contented and knew the peace that comes only when creature and Creator have met. "For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Psalm 107:9).
    God is real. Even though you don't see, understand, or find Him, this does not alter the irrevocable fact that He was, now is, and always will be. There is a God! Never doubt it. To find God, it is basic that you firmly believe in His existence and have full confidence in His love.
Where is God? Can He be here, when He is there? Yes, He is everywhere! Jesus told the woman at Jacob's well that God is a Spirit and can be found any place, anywhere, and anytime. He does not confine Himself to a remote out-of-reach Heaven: nor does He limit Himself to churches, synagogues, or temples. You can find Him on the mountain, in the valley, in the sky, on the sea, in your home, or any other place. At this very moment He surrounds you.
    Jacob, a man of God, said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not." Often, we too, are so engrossed with the earthly things of life that even though He is near us, we "know it not." We are expecting some dramatic encounter with Him and fail to recognize Him in the "still small voice," or the gentle tugging within. We must stop, look, and listen, and then in faith we will see, hear, and understand.
    You don't need to grope around in the dark looking for God. He is not hiding from you, He is looking for you. Long before you started out on your search to find Him, He started out on His search to find you. He wants you in His eternal family where He can love and care for you in a very personal way. Do you feel empty, restless, guilty, lost or afraid to die? This is God calling you because He does not want you to be lost. This may be your first call or your final one. "... Today if ye ... hear his voice, harden not your heart..." (Psalm 95:7,8).
    God in His great love, made a way for us to find Him. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Christ is the way to God! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6). When the jailer asked, "What must I do to be saved?" the Apostle Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).
    When Nicodemus inquired of the way of salvation, Jesus told him, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3). Like Nicodemus, do you ask how this can be? To be born again is to accept Jesus, the Son of God, as your Savior. As you believe in His death on the cross, His blood will cleanse you from all sin. You must also be sorry for your sins and forsake them, ask God to forgive you, and confess Jesus as Lord in every detail of your life. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
    All have sinned. "... There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). God is holy, therefore He hates sin. So before we can come into the presence of God, we must deal with our sins in the way He has taught us in His Word. Living a good moral life will never atone for our sins or be sufficient. We must repent and turn from our sins.
    To really find God you must want Him more than anything else in your life. You must make a total commitment, with all that you have and all that you are. You must deny yourself and give up your selfish ways. Sin must become as distasteful to you as to Him.
    Do you truly want to find Him and walk with Him? The choice is yours - and yours alone. You have nothing to lose, and all to gain. If you will stop, turn your face, and move toward God, you will find Him. A seeking soul and a seeking Savior always meet! When you find God, the source of life, He will give you a new life, a new heart, and a will to follow Him. All things will become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Will you, just now, bow your head and pray after this manner, "I give up, I am tired of sin. I am undone and unworthy of your great love. Lord, take me as I am. I surrender my whole life to You. All of my sins I lay at Your feet, and humbly ask You to forgive me. Please accept me as Your child, and teach me how to live for Thee. I thank You that Jesus died that my sins can be forgiven."
(http://e-menno.org/searchfg.htm)

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