Introduction
In our second day of exploring what it means to seek God, we’re going to focus in on the act of seeking God through the Scriptures. We have been given an endless well of life-giving truth through the gift of God’s word. Whatever need you have, God wants to use his words to bring peace, life, strength, guidance and hope to you today. He promises you will find him when you seek him with your whole heart. And God is ready and waiting to meet with you today, eager to meet all your needs and exceed all your expectations. May your heart be opened to God’s truth today as you experience his presence.
Worship
Be Thou My Vision | Audrey Assad
Devotional
The pages of Scripture are filled with declarations of the wonderful, mysterious, powerful, and loving nature of our heavenly Father. Scripture is one of God’s greatest gifts to his people, who so easily forget the labor of love he has undergone to gain restored relationship with us. The Bible is a companion to those who long to seek and find the invisible God who so greatly desires to be discovered. Let’s open our hearts today to Scripture and the Holy Spirit and receive fresh revelation on how God longs to use his word to guide us as we seek his face.
In Matthew 4:4 Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Scripture is meant to fill us with life by leading us directly to our heavenly Father. The power of Scripture lies in the fact that its pages are filled with the words of a God who is still active, powerful, and loving. I went years using Scripture incorrectly. I viewed it as a set of rules I needed to read and try to keep rather than as a guide to experiencing the adventure of communion with my heavenly Father. I viewed Scripture as a chore rather than the words of God meant specifically for me. I finally came to the realization that if I wanted to read the Bible, I would be. My problem wasn’t a lack of will but rather a lack of revelation on God’s intention behind authoring the Bible. My problem was that I hadn’t experienced a life lived “by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Wherever you are in your understanding of Scripture, know that God has fresh desire for his word in store for you today. He longs to fill you with a desire to read the words that will guide you to abundant life. The Holy Spirit longs to speak directly to you through words written thousands of years ago. Our Bible is a powerful miracle safeguarded for the benefit of all who would use it to seek the face of its Creator. May we all have the heart of the Psalmist and grow in our love of Scripture and the God who inspired it:Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way (Psalm 119: 97-104).
Prayer
1. Meditate on the power of Scripture in seeking God.
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:10-11
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
2. Where do you need the help of Scripture in seeking God?What lie do you believe about the character of God? What thought or perspective is keeping you from pursuing God with all your heart? Scripture is a powerful tool to combat incorrect thinking with God’s truth.
3. Ask the Spirit to guide you to a passage of Scripture that will speak directly to your situation. Pay attention for a passage or book that comes to mind. Or search online for key verses.
Go
May you have ears to hear the voice of God speaking to you through the pages of Scripture. May your heart become soft and open to God’s presence as you open his word. And may you experience the delight that comes from the knowledge of God’s will for you as found in the pages of the Bible.
Extended Reading: Psalm 19 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Psalms.