Do you have 100% assurance that when you die you will go to Heaven? Can you know that? The Bible says you can, so what might be missing in your life? Reading the Bible, going to church, attending Bible studies… that is not what will get you into Heaven. One of the biggest lessons in the Old Testament that will hopefully jump out at you in a Bible read-through is taking note of how often God told the Israelites to remember. Then, the followup to remembering is seeking, and in the Bible they go hand in hand.
I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Proverbs 8:17, emphasis added
The Bible often encourages us to seek the Lord. Do you recall the Levitical duties, how extremely precise they were? Do you also recall the instructions for the feasts and sacrifices, how detailed they were? Thinking through the laws and rules for the Israelites as a new nation, did it not seem intricately thought out? Numbers 33 walks through an overview of their journey in the desert, and each time they would move, they had to dismantle the tabernacle each time in super specific ways. Why?
This caused them to think of God constantly. When our lives are not inundated with God, the busyness of life threatens to carry us away without even a moment’s notice of God throughout our day. In one of his famous books, CS Lewis addresses that demons want to busy us with life and things to distract us because it’s just so easy.
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Reminders to look for…
The end of Numbers (chapters 32-36), offers a synopsis wrapping up the book with an overview of the Israelite journey in the wilderness and details about their promised inheritance. Beginning in Deuteronomy, it is plain to see it also is a synopsis, but of the last three books: Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. The word Deuteronomy actually means “repetition of the law”.
However, this isn’t just some rote paraphrasing. It is very purposeful in how it is laid out and presented both to the Israelites and for us to read today. Deuteronomy is LITTERED with phrases and reminders of all that God had done, commanded, given to the Israelites–how He cared for them! Continuously, God told the Israelites to remember through Moses.
If you are a highlight-your-Bible-kind-of-person, I encourage you to grab one color and go through all of Deuteronomy and highlight the phrases of God caring for them, you’ll be amazed at how many there are (“I have given you this land”, “the Lord swore He would give to your fathers”, “the Lord your God has increased your numbers”, “the Lord your God will fight for you”, “the Lord your God cared for you”).
The depth of Moses’ last words…
The Israelites knew what was ahead: they would be the generation to enter the Promised Land, after Moses died. When we consider that this is Moses’ last hurrah to the people, it makes sense to see the message he was conveying. He brings about a couple major themes to look for as you read through Deuteronomy: that God cares (He delivered/saved/provided/etc.), to be careful (to obey/observe/etc.), and to hold fast to Him.
Those three themes are no different for the Israelites to focus on than for us today to implement.
There are so many things in this world that weary our souls. Being downcast or discouraged is not sinful; in fact, many historical theologians as well as many pastors suffer with depression. It’s what we do in the midst of our depression that counts.
Can we be depressed and a Christ-follower? Absolutely!
Can we go through a season of sorrow and angst, while still building our faith? Absolutely!
It’s a choice though how you muck through those times (or how you learn from them after). There’s a famous quote by Mister Rogers that lends itself to a similar Biblical principal. He was encouraged as a young child to ‘look for the helpers’. Deuteronomy advises us to look for the reminders. Look at the ways, even while you’re in distress, to SEE how God is caring for you in the little ways and the big ways. At the very least, end your day identifying one way you recognized God cared for you that day; encourage your kids to start sharing… train them to constantly see God’s faithfulness!
Remember, remember, remember. Force yourself to find these reminders, choose to seek them out, it is training your mind to keep God present!
They don’t have to be grand gestures either. Sometimes, it is a new Bible-believing friend God puts in your way when you feel alone. How about receiving a compliment from someone, or even when someone matches eye contact and smiles knowingly to brighten your day. Or seeing clouds and choosing to see how they can comfort you–He is leading you just as He did the Israelites. Even just acknowledging that God hears your prayers as you weep by yourself and let a song pray the words that your mouth just can’t speak out loud. FIND God. He is there.
If this just isn’t happening in your life, then pray for help to do just that! Ask God for wisdom to see Him in your day. Ask Him for help.
Seek the Lord…
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered….
1 Chronicles 16:8-12, emphasis added
This set of verses contains two different root words for ‘seek’. The first and third reference (1245) sandwich the second (1875) but are similar in definition; and both of which make up the majority of Old Testament uses of the word. It serves us well to understand what the Bible means when it gives direction like this.
baqash.
a primitive root; to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer); by implication to strive after:–ask, beg, beseech, desire, enquire, get, make inquisition, procure, (make) request, require, seek (for).
1245, Strong’s Concordance.
darash.
a primitive root; properly to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication to seek or ask; specifically to worship:–ask, [seek] at all, care for, [seek] diligently, inquire, make inquisition, [necro-] mancer, question, require, search, seek [for, out], [seek] surely.
1875, Strong’s Concordance.
Now, lest you think I made a spelling error, there is a slight notation to take into consideration: enquire vs. inquire. It is subtle, but kind of drives the point home that these are two different words albeit quite similar.
The traditional distinction between the verbs enquire and inquire is that enquire is to be used for general senses of ‘ask’, while inquire is reserved for uses meaning ‘make a formal investigation’. … Some … make the distinction that enquire and its derivatives apply to informal queries, and inquire and its derivatives to formal investigations.
Grammar.com
To seek is an action. It is not merely something you can voice and check off your list. How beautiful, too, that it is rooted in worship. Music, mostly hymns, became my lifeline in my own depths. Oftentimes, it was the only way I could offer up my prayers as my voice failed behind trembling lips. Even now, I continually bring myself back to my playlist to worship when I feel overwhelmed with life or joyous at His provision.
A note about worship…
My own lack of Biblical knowledge left me with a false sense of Christianity. I thought acknowledgement was enough, but action is required. You taught me through this that faith is learned; it is not mastered, not claimed, not earned. Click To TweetA common theme in my writing is that it’s all about the baby steps. My own lack of Biblical knowledge left me with a false sense of Christianity. I thought acknowledgement was enough, but action is required. You taught me through this that faith is learned; it is not mastered, not claimed, not earned. Same is true of this. Remembering is a conscious decision to train yourself to think of the Lord. Seeking the Lord is a conscious decision to ask and investigate within and through worship. We can’t be cautious in life to obey if we don’t have our minds trained. These three themes tie in together wondrously to guide us completely.
A straightforward way to do this, is to focus on worship. Find your favorite songs and hymns to inundate your daily life. While I don’t agree with everything this artist stands for, I find the words in a lot of her songs are of upmost value and portray the very thing I wish to pray.
Lauren Daigle’s song, ‘First‘, resonates at the heart of a desire to recognize God as sovereign and to not approach Him with our requests first.
Before I bring my need
Lauren Daigle, First
I will bring my heart
Before I lift my cares
I will lift my arms
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
And seek You
Her other song, ‘Remember‘, clearly details out the importance of remembrance.
In the darkest hour, when I cannot breathe
Fear is on my chest, the weight of the world on me
Everything is crashing down, everything I had known
When I wonder if I’m all aloneI remember, I remember
You have always been faithful to me
I remember, I remember
Even when my own eyes could not see
You were there, always thereI will lift my eyes even in the pain
Lauren Daigle, Remember
Above all the lies, I know You can make a way
I have seen giants fall, I have seen mountains move
I have seen waters part because of You
If you are looking for a playlist, I invite you to visit mine as it was built at a time when it became my lifeline. I listen to it still almost daily!
Let us not forget that busyness can be a tool Satan often uses. God told the Israelites to remember, and we are no different. I encourage you to challenge yourself to a deeper walk, there are always more steps we can take on earth. Take another baby step toward remembering and seeking the Lord.
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I need the repetition that God often gave the Israelites. Remember, remember. I like looking back at things God has done through the years; it gives me confidence that he’ll stay faithful in the future.
I am just as forgetful as my Israelite brothers and sisters. Thanks be to God for his patience!
Praying for help in seeking Him constantly.