Tag Archives: seeking God

September 10, 2025 · 5:48 AM

A Posture Of Pursuit

In my first year of marriage, my wife pointed out a habit of mine that I didn’t know I had. When I would walk in the door to my home, I would go straight to the remote control and turn on the TV. I wouldn’t watch it. I would just have it on as background noise. When she asked why I did it if I wasn’t going to watch it, I didn’t have an answer. It occurred to me that many of us treat the Lord this way in our life. He’s just background noise. We don’t really pursue him or pay attention to Him until we need something. He’s constantly talking to us, but we aren’t really listening because we aren’t pursuing Him.

As David wrote Psalm 61, he was fleeing King Saul. He was displaced from his home, his family and friends while having to live in the desert wilderness. The first verse says, “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water” (NLT). He didn’t have the posture of despair despite his situation. Instead he was seeking the Lord continually. He compared his need for the Lord to the need his body had for water while living in the desert. His posture wasn’t one of complaint regarding his situation. It was one of praise and understanding of how much he truly needed the Lord.

Psalm 105:4 says, “Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.” We must be purposeful in our pursuit of the Lord. We must seek Him for strength to help us each and every day. Instead of seeking affirmations from social media when you wake up, seek Him. Instead of complaining about the day, praise Him. Start your day with worship instead of worry. Ask God for direction and guidance. When He moves from background noise in your life to the One you pursue and seek, everything changes. When you pursue Him as your greatest need, you can be content in whatever situation you find yourself in.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.

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July 24, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Seeking More

One of a kid’s favorite games is hide and seek. Since we had some kids over recently, we encouraged them to play inside. The last one caught got to be it each time. On one occasion, the youngest player got to be it. After a few minutes of trying, she couldn’t find anyone. She was ready to quit. We encouraged her by setting a timer, offering hints and walking with her. She found no one. After the timer was up, we had her call out, “Marco!” The older kids responded, “Polo!” She began seeking again and was able to find them. I realized at that moment that each person has a different ability and threshold for seeking.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him” (TPT). Each of us are called to continually seek Him even after we’ve found Him. There are greater depths of Him to know beyond what we find on the surface at salvation. He’s not asking us just to find Him. We’re to know Him as well. We can’t just give up or stop seeking Him after salvation. We need to seek the different aspects of who He is because we’re going to need them as we go through life.

Psalm 105:4 says, “Seek more of his strength! Seek more of him! Let’s always be seeking the light of his face.” Seeking more of who God is should be a daily discipline for believers. Our personal revival starts with seeking these different aspects of who He is. When we go through dry times in our relationship with Him, the root cause in a lot of cases is that we have quit seeking Him. He wants to be found. He wants to reveal more if Himself to you, but you must move and seek Him. We have a promise in James 4:8 that says if we will draw close to Him, He will draw close to us. Seeking Him is the pathway to the closeness we’re looking for.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word. 

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July 9, 2025 · 5:34 AM

Sitting And Seeking

Not long after I started writing devotions I signed up for a writers conference where several published authors would be. One day during the conference I was able to share a meal with William Paul Young, author of “The Shack.” He gave me a piece of wisdom that still drives me to this day. He told me to quit looking at God as a well, and instead see Him as a river of life. Then he said, “Every day you need to sit at that river with God with an empty bucket. Sit in His presence and ask Him to fill your bucket with fresh water from His Word every day. If you will seek Him out and listen, I promise you He will fill your bucket with fresh water every day.” With that, I began seeking God more diligently and He has continued to fill my bucket.

In Luke 10, Jesus went to the house of Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary. As Jesus began to teach, Martha went into the kitchen to begin preparing food for everyone. However, Mary stayed behind and sat at the feet of Jesus listening to every word. As her bucket was being filled up, Martha disrupted what was going on to ask Jesus to make Mary help her. Jesus told Martha she was distracted and concerned about all these other things. Then He said in verse 42, “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her” (NLT). She had learned to seek Jesus and to allow Him to fill her bucket with living water.

The psalmist understood the power of seeking God’s presence too. In Psalm 105:4 he wrote, “Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might]; Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually” (AMP). It’s not just a command for us to take time to seek out God’s presence continually, it’s also a necessity. Too many time though, we are like Martha. We’re busy with life, work, serving the Lord and all the other things we have to do. Yet Jesus said Mary had discovered the one thing we should be concerned about. We must all make time to seek Him and sit at His feet. We must deeply long for His presence to the point our day is incomplete without it. When we do, He will meet us and renew us with His fresh water.

Photo by Elise Zimmerman on Unsplash

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January 8, 2025 · 5:32 AM

First Things First

I’ve talked with two different people this week that had felt like God had asked them to make a change to their morning routine. One said that when they wake up, they go into a room by themselves and play worship music for 15 minutes. They sing along and spend the first few moments worshiping God. The other said that they have made it a point to not open any apps on their phone until they have done their daily Bible reading. Both have shared what a difference it has made in their day. Instead of checking the weather, opening social media, checking emails or texts, they have decided to seek God first. It’s a small change in their day that isn’t easy to do because of previous habits, but it’s paying big dividends in the faith.

Exodus 16 starts out telling us how israel had been set free from slavery in Egypt for a month. They were traveling to the Promised Land being led by the Shekinah glory of God. In that journey of following a physical manifestation of His presence, they began to complain He wasn’t doing enough for their appetites. That evening, God provided quail for them to eat. The next morning, there was dew on the ground. When it evaporated, it became manna for them to eat. They had to pick up just enough for them for that day, and they had to get it before the sun got high in the sky or it would melt and disappear. God was literally giving them their daily bread, but they had to get it first thing or they would miss out on it. God was teaching them that He would care for their needs each morning and evening.

In Matthew 6, Jesus was giving the Sermon on the Mount. He taught about fasting and prayer, and then He taught about their physical needs of money, food and possessions. He told them not to let these thought dominate their mind because the Father knows their needs. Then in verse 33 He said, “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also” (AMP). When we seek our needs first, it leads to complaining. When we seek Him first, it leads to trust. Do you find yourself complaining about your needs or trusting Him for them? The difference might be in what you’re seeking first.

Photo by Terry Tan De Hao on Unsplash

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October 23, 2024 · 5:36 AM

Seeking Creativity

One of the questions I get asked often is, “How can you write devotions consistently for over a decade?” My answer is always the same. I used to panic about it each day until I realized I wasn’t looking at God the right way. I’ve learned that God is an endless river of fresh flowing creativity. He is the most creative being in the universe. We get to see His creativity in creation daily. I don’t rely on my creativity. I rely on His. Each day I go to the river and ask God for His creativity. I hold out my bucket and ask Him to fill it with fresh water. I sit at His feet and don’t move until His creativity flows into me. I would run out of insight and things to say, but He never will.

When I think of people who tap into God’s creativity, David comes to mind first. He was a warrior that people feared. He had slain giants and armies, yet here was a man who sat at that same river and crafted psalm after psalm. In the New Testament, Paul wrote letters to all the churches. He wrote several of them while in prison. His circumstances didn’t keep him from that river. The New Testament also mentions people like Tabitha, who sewed clothes and jackets for the poor. Pricilla and Aquila were tent makers who used their creativity to make a living and further the Gospel. God is able to empower anyone with any creativity to use for His Kingdom.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (NLT). The Amplified version calls this gift a talent or ability graciously given by God. You don’t have to be creative to use the gifts, talents and abilities He has given you. Simply take time each day to ask Him how He wants you to use your unique giftings for His purposes. Be determined to sit at His river of creativity until He fill us your bucket. You will find that He will meet you there and fill you with fresh ideas, new inspiration and dynamic ways to do things that you would never come up with on your own. You have been given gifts, now seek Him for creativity in using them to make the greatest impact for the Kingdom that you can.

Photo by David Becker on Unsplash

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July 11, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Seeking God’s Face

One of the things I enjoy doing is going to sports shows to get autographs. There are tables set up all over the place with autographs from just about any athlete on just about anything. It’s cool to look at those and remember those players, but I rarely buy anything on that side of the building. On the other side is a series of tables with athletes sitting at them signing autographs. You have to get tickets months in advance if you’re going to meet the person and get their autograph. For me, that’s the way to go. I love being able to say, “I met Clyde Drexler,” or “I met Craig Biggio and got him to sign this right after he got into the Hall of Fame.” I want to be present and meet the people who’s autographs I have.

The same thing goes when it comes to God’s presence. I love hearing stories of revivals in the past and the miraculous things that happened. I love conversing with people about what God showed them in prayer, but to me, it’s like window shopping at the sports show. I don’t just want to hear about someone else’s experience, I want to meet with God and be in His presence too. There’s a fear many people have of being in God’s presence I think. It’s like the Israelites when they left Egypt. God invited them into His presence, but they sent Moses instead. You and I can’t live or fully grow off of someone else’s experiences. We must learn to get into God’s presence ourselves.

Psalm 27:8 says, “When You said, ‘Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O LORD, I will seek [on the authority of Your word]’” (AMP). God is asking us to seek His presence individually. There’s a cost associated with that. It’s going to cost you time that you could be doing something else. God wants to be first in our lives and to be our greatest need. Until each of us are willing to make Him our greatest need and are willing to pay the price, we’ll be window shopping off of other people’s experiences. Find time today to seek God. Put on some worship music, read your Bible, pray and listen. He’ll meet you there because if you seek, you will find.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko.

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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January 31, 2024 · 5:36 AM

Leaving Crisis Mode

Stephen Covey says we typically spend our time in one of four quadrants, and the amount of time we spend in each matters to our growth and productivity. Quadrant 1 is where most people live. It’s urgent and important things. The problem with quadrant one is that we’re on a treadmill not going anywhere really. We’re just constantly putting out fires. Quadrant two is not urgent but important. Here is where we focus on the future, relationships and planning. Being in this quadrant brings growth, control and balance. The other two quadrants are urgent and not important (quadrant three) and not urgent and not important. These aren’t connected to your big picture goals and prevent you from doing what really matters. The more time we spend in quadrant two, the more fulfilled our life will be is his point.

David was a man living in crisis before he became king. Saul was constantly hunting him to kill him. He spent a lot of his time in the wilderness of the Negev. It’s a very dry climate there where there isn’t much water and the biggest body of water is undrinkable (Dead Sea). David could have spent all his time during this season in quadrant one handling all the urgent and important work of trying to find water, food, shelter and safety. He had to do those things, but David took time to live in quadrant two in the middle of all that. He focused on the future and on the One who could rescue him. He grew his relationship with God in the difficult times. He knew he didn’t just need a series of temporary solutions. He needed to know the One who could solve his problems and fulfill the anointing on his life. During this time, he wrote Psalm 63.

Psalm 63:1 says, ”O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water“ (NLT). Where do you spend your time when things aren’t going according to plan in your life? Do you jump on the treadmill in quadrant one or do you build your relationship with God who is more than able to help? Do you search for Him in your wilderness or for the solutions by yourself? If you find yourself spending all your time in response and survival mode, it will be hard to break free from the cycle. While you still have to spend time on those things because they’re urgent and important, make time to search for God, to seek His face and to study His Word. He is the One who gives peace, deliverance and wisdom. When we draw close to Him, He draws close to us.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

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November 20, 2023 · 5:52 AM

Finding Happiness

I saw an article in Psychology Today called “10 Simple Ways To Finding Happiness”. In it they told people to be around people you likes, find your true purpose and to do things you love. I’m sure it’s a lot of great advice, but it was all very self centered information. I then decided to Google “happiness definition”. It came up with lots of opinions, but the different dictionaries all had something very similar. They basically said that happiness is finding contentment with your current situation. It’s hard to find contentment when you’re current situation keeps going from bad to worse or if you’re constantly trying to find the silver lining. Our circumstances aren’t really a great place to look for contentment and happiness because they’re always changing.

Think of Joseph who had the coat of many colors. While he was at home as dad’s favorite, he found happiness despite what his brothers thought. Then they tried to kills him, but decided to throw him in a pit and rob him of his coat. From there, they sold him into slavery where he was taken to a foreign country. He worked hard for a wealthy man and life was good for a slave until he was accused of rape. Looking for contentment in those circumstances must have been difficult as he was thrown in prison where he sat for years. Somewhere in there he found his happiness in God and waited for God to intervene. In one day he went from prisoner to being second in command of Egypt. When his brothers arrived, he wasn’t mad or bitter because finally he understood God’s plan.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Seek your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desire” (GNT). Where have you been seeking your happiness? If it’s in circumstances, you probably feel like you’ve been on a roller coaster of emotions. Instead we need to find contentment and happiness in God and in how He’s using our circumstances to shape us and place us. The character of God is love. That’s why He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). God has a plan and your current situation is part of it. He uses difficult times to shape us and to grow our faith. In the moment it can feel like you’re forgotten as Joseph, but God has never lost sight of you, nor has He forgotten you. Find your happiness and contentment in Him rather than your circumstances.

Photo by Edu Lauton on Unsplash

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July 26, 2023 · 5:23 AM

An Extraordinary Day

I’ve noticed that God tends to show up in the most extraordinary ways on seemingly ordinary days. I wonder how often I miss Him. I was on a mission trip to Haiti about ten years ago when we decided to challenge each other to look for Jesus. Each night we would sing worship songs, pray and share. It was during those share times that we would tell stories of extraordinary things that happened where Jesus showed up. When we started looking for Him in our daily interactions, we began to see Him working through people and in people. We saw prayers answered, people healed and needs met in unexpected ways. I found that the more I look for Jesus in my ordinary life, the more extraordinary things He tends to do through me.

In Exodus 3, Moses was in the middle of an ordinary day. It started like any other one for the previous forty years. He took the sheep out to graze on the mountain side. That’s when he saw an amazing sight. There was a bush on fire, but it wasn’t being consumed. “‘This is amazing,’ Moses said to himself. ‘Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it’” (verse 3 NLT). When he went to see what God was doing, he had a holy moment with God. His future changed in an instant. No longer would he be tending sheep in the wilderness. Now he would lead God’s people out of bondage. That life change happened in an instant on the most ordinary of days because he didn’t stay still when he encountered God.

Psalm 14:2 says, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.” God is looking for those who are looking for Him. Will you keep your eyes open today to try to find Him? Today may have started like any other day, but it has the potential to be extraordinary if you will seek God today in the mundane. You may not be called to lead a nation out of slavery, but you may be used to help someone out of a bondage they’ve been in for years. You may not raise the dead, but you can make someone glad to be alive. I don’t know where you’ll see God or how He will use you. I just know if you seek Him and look for Him, you will find Him and He will use you. Don’t let this extraordinary thing pass you by.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

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July 17, 2023 · 5:40 AM

Seeking To Know God More

Several years ago I was at work when a crazy thunderstorm popped up. My boss called me and said she needed help. When I went out the front door of the building, her car was in the street with water over the hood. I waded through the water into the street and told her to put it in neutral. I then pushed the car into the parking lot. As she was getting out of the car, I noticed my wedding ring was missing. I began searching through the high water for it while lightening was striking and it was pouring down rain. I searched for an hour and a half and couldn’t find it. I then waited for the storm to stop and started looking again as the water receded. After another hour of searching, I couldn’t find it. I prayed, “Lord, I give up. I don’t know what to do.” When I opened my eyes, the ring was between my feet.

In Acts 8 there’s the story of an Ethiopian eunuch who went to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way home. What you may not know is that the Old Testament forbid eunuch from entering the Temple. This man had traveled a long way searching for God only to have been turned away. Even in his rejection, he kept searching for God and bought a scroll of Isaiah to help him. As he was reading it, God sent the disciple Philip to go meet him. Philip heard him reading and asked if he understood. The eunuch said no one had guided him to know God or to understand it. So Philip explained the prophesy of Isaiah 53 in reference to Jesus and the Good News. The eunuch wanted to be baptized after that and asked what laws would stop that. I’m sure Philip smiled and said that Jesus was available to all who seek Him. Then he baptized the eunuch.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart” (GNT). Even though you have found Jesus as the Ethiopian eunuch did, you must still continue to seek God. Just as you can’t know a person after one encounter, you can’t know God with one. That first encounter brought salvation, but there is so much more God wants us to know about Himself. Have you grown complacent with where you are in your relationship to Him? He says if we will seek Him and search Him out more, you will find there more to Him and that He wants to reveal Himself to you, but you must seek Him with your whole heart. Don’t stop trying to get to know Him, His Word or His ways. Search for Him like a lost treasure. Don’t give up in the middle of a storm. Don’t quit searching just because things are going well either. There is more to God than you can ever know or search out, and He’s willing to show Himself to you if you’re willing to seek Him out.

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