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A heart after God
by beatrice ofwona 2Chronicles 15:1-2 reads:' The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you". It is God's intention that we may commune and connect with Him. In our relating to Him we are not after something but rather after someone. We are not seeking for miracles, favor, jobs or wealth but rather for Him. We know we are in this place when there is a cry in our hearts, a hunger that consumes us, a thirst that remains unquenched, and a void that seeks to be filled and only He can do this to those He has called to Himself. Philippians 2:13 says, 'for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose'. How then do we bring change to ourselves as individuals, as a congregation or as a nation in order to get to that point of hungering for God in this way? Placards have been carried, people have chained themselves to gates and others have stripped naked to prove a point- all in an effort to bring about change; but does an individual's life change after all this drama? Where really does transformation come from in an individual? Transformation is not from something but from someone-God; knowing Him and determining that we will not sit at the periphery but rather that we will get into His heart. This entails that we do not become satisfied with the status quo because there are so many things wrong with our own lives and with the world as things stand. A number of us get tired of the journey of seeking for God yet we read severally in the Bible that if we truly seek Him out, then He will be found by us. What we do not realize is that He is seeking us out much more than we are seeking Him. He is willing to let us find Him. However, the ultimate purpose of seeking God is not for what we can get from Him but to have the priviledge of being in His presence. Some of us may even think that we have already reached there and are complacent about seeking Him more. The sheer might of our God is such that we cannot have enough of Him nor can we fathom Him nor His mysteries. He who holds the galaxy in the palms of His hand cannot be known enough by us. This hunger for Him therefore is continuous for those who seek Him and it is so, that He may reveal Himself to us some more. We are all carrying baggage of one form or the other. These rid us of the pleasure of moving closer to our God. There are things that we cannot even tell those closest to us about, things that we must rid ourselves of because they hinder our holy communion with God. Jesus came purposefully to free us from these burdens. It may be that we were sexually abused as children or that we have done something that we feel deeply ashamed about having done; deep dark, bottomless secrets that we carry around with us. It is time to free ourselves from all this weight because Jesus Christ took care of all our infirmities and conditions at the cross. Do not be contented with where you are with God; seek Him more. Be the centrifugal force that draws people even closer to Him because they see something in you and wish to meet with this presence in you-God. Beware of the danger of decline and recline. When Asa heard the Lord's message in 2Chronicles 15:8f, he realized his mistake and removed all the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin. He also repaired the temple of the Lord assembled the people and offered sacrifices to the Lord. As Christians, we too need a clean-up exercise. We need to put down all the idols that have now taken over our lives, all those things that make it impossible for us to seek the heart of God in faith and in works. We need to get back to repentance before God. If we think we do not need God, then He too will forsake us. We have become too predictable and liturgical and have lost the freshness that comes with seeking God afresh each and every time. We have become 'old' and mechanical in our worship, we no longer stand in awe of Him who created us and has shown us mercy over and over again. We are more impressed by worldly things, brought together by things and are finally separated by the very things we crave. We remember our zeal, our passion, our tears and our desire for God as of old. We are now casual with Him. He has become a by-the-way in our lives. What a shame! But some things we must die for! And one of those things is seeking for the heart of God! 2Chronicles 15:14-15 says -'they took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly; and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side'. Don't you think it is time for you to seek the Lord and find rest? Word count-940 May these words (sermons), from various men and women of God be a blessing to all. contact:[email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |