ME-ssentials – Self-Seeking – Day Eighteen
ESSENTIALS for Me NOT to Be: Self-Seeking
September 18th, 2021
What’s your ESSENTIAL?
Essential: absolutely necessary; indispensable; the essence of a thing; inherent and intrinsic, vital
Just as there are so many ESSENTIALS for me to be, there are just as many ESSENTIALS for me NOT to be. Let’s explore those the other half of this month!
John 5:39-44, ‘”You are busy analyzing the Scriptures, poring over them hoping to gain eternal life. Everything you read points to Me, yet you still refuse to come to Me so I can give you the life you are looking for—eternal life! I do not accept the honor that comes from men, for I know what kind of people you really are, and I can see that the love of God has found no home in you. I have come to represent My Father, yet you refuse to embrace Me in faith. If someone comes in their own name and with their own agenda, you readily accept him. Of course, you’re unable to believe in Me. For you live to enjoy the praises of others and not the praise that comes from the one true God.”’ (TPT)
Ouch. That’s what I have to say. Ouch.
It is mind-boggling when we delve into what the opposite is of seeking Jesus. If we aren’t seeking Jesus then we are seeking self because we were all created with a desire inside of us to seek something, to worship something. God made mankind to adore and idolize and genuflect something or someone, and furthermore, He placed within us, a God-shaped hole, but often times we are so busy trying to fill it with anything but Jesus, that we miss it altogether.
To be self-seeking is also to be self-centered and this is when we find ourselves at the center of our own praise. We become self-absorbed and selfish and self-indulgent. There is an egotistical, egocentric, egomaniacal idiot sitting on the throne of my life often while Jesus lays on the altar as I gather the wood and the twigs for the fire. Either that or I chase myself out the door, hurrying to the next big thing that can rescue me from the desperation this life has lent up to now. There are so many voices that are speaking quite loudly in this current culture and their obtuseness is drowning out the still, small voice of the very Spirit of God. Even as Christians, it is quite easy to follow the herd, but we must check who is shepherding the flock, essentially Who is Master.
So how do we, as needy, ignorant people, who are so in need of a Savior and so apt to fall into any pit that offers soothing for our souls and bliss for our brains, find and follow the one true God, hear His voice and His alone? We must seek His face and that is found in His Word. We can search everywhere, and perhaps we will be lucky enough to hop on the right path. But when it comes to eternity and our soul’s rest, we should be more intentional and cautious, and truly, the only real deal is Jesus. If you don’t find what you are looking for in the Bible, chances are you are looking for the wrong thing and you should turn precisely one-hundred-eighty degrees and go in the opposite direction. Everything you need for life and godliness is spoken by the breath of God, written with the ink of the Spirit and signed in the blood of Jesus, and it can all be found in His Word.
You’ll never go wrong seeking Him over your self and over the selves of others and emptying yourself of anything or anyone that fills you up so you can instead be completed by Him. He will always, always be your best decision.
