homeschooled By GOD – Lesson Six: Seek Wholeheartedly
Lessons Learned in the Classroom of Life
new YEAR, new YOU
January 14th, 2022
Psalm 40:1-3, ‘I waited and waited, and waited some more, for God. At last, He looked; finally, He listened. He lifted me out of the ditch (the slimy pit), pulled me from deep mud. He stood me on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn’t slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.’
LESSON SIX: Seek Wholeheartedly
About a couple of months ago, after a lengthy period of time with no additional instructions, the Lord spoke again to me. He gave me a new directive in addition to the tried-and-true commands He already had given over the past several years: ‘Trust Me. Be obedient. Let go. Just wait.’ To those, He added, ‘Seek…wholeheartedly’.
This time, the Lord met me for my homeschooling assignment, not verbally, like the spoken words He had given previously, but this time in my spirit through InTouch, my daily devotion with Dr. Stanley. Immediately upon reading the day’s devotion for November 6th, 2021, entitled ‘Seek the Lord’, my spirit leapt within me at the new lesson which would begin to unfold. Dr. Charles Stanley writes, “Seeking God is a lifetime pursuit…Seeking the Lord simply cannot be hurried. It will cost you time and energy, but the rewards of knowing Him intimately are worth any sacrifice.” I knew immediately I had a new lesson plan and instructions to begin to understand what it means to seek the Lord and do so wholeheartedly.
So, what does it mean to seek the Lord? Well, Webster says, ‘to go in search or query of; to go to.’ To seek means to look for, to explore, to investigate, to pursue, to strive, to chase after, to petition, to inquire of. When we seek, it usually means we extend intentional effort toward an endgame of finding, knowing, achieving, obtaining what we sought. If we seek something or someone, putting forth intentionality and perseverance, it is typically because we aspire what we seek. Think about your spouse or significant other or even best friend. In the initial stages of being introduced to one another, you put willful and deliberate action toward getting to know that someone special. You explored what made he or she tick, you investigated their character and personality, traits and history; you strived to know them. In fact, I will be so bold to say you pursued and chased the relationship, and likely, felt glee, when they did the same toward you, pursuing and chasing you.
What God desires is, each of us on our own, seeking Him: making intentional effort to know Him, exploring His character and understanding His heart for mankind, striving to be more like Him, pursuing and chasing after Him because we cannot simply do life without Him, and finally, petitioning Him for instructions on how He would like us to conduct our lives and what His purpose for us might look like.
What is more? Do you know your Heavenly Father, the God of the Universe, seeks you too? He wants to know you. He pursues you relentlessly, chasing after your heart so He can win it back from the enemy who mercilessly stole it in a game of lies and chance.
I will seek the Lord my God with all my heart, with a whole heart. I can see—it is evident—it is not a safari, a vacation, a small adventure, but rather, a lifelong journey, seeking Him so I can know Him.
Psalm 27:4-9a, ‘Here’s the one thing I crave from Yahweh, the one thing I seek above all else: I want to live with him every moment in his house, beholding the marvelous beauty of Yahweh, filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace. I want to contemplate in his temple. In the day of trouble, he will treasure me in his shelter, under the cover of his tent. He will lift me high upon a rock, out of reach from all my enemies who surround me. Triumphant now, I’ll bring him my offerings of praise, singing and shouting with ecstatic joy! Yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh! Hear my cry. Show me mercy and send the help I need! I heard your voice in my heart say, “Come, seek my face;” my inner being responded, “Yahweh, I’m seeking your face with all my heart.” So don’t turn your face away from me. You’re the God of my salvation; how can you reject your servant in anger? You’ve been my only hope, so don’t forsake me now when I need you!’ (TPT)
