Are We Seeking & Are We Finding…….TRUTH?
Playing “Hide and Seek” as a child brings such pleasure. Whether we are “hiding” or “seeking,” still we are enjoying the game.
YET,
What happens when we SEEK & SEEK & SEEK & NEVER FIND?
OR,
What happens when we SEEK & THEN FIND THAT WHICH WE NEVER DREAMED OF FINDING?
Two Things Occur.
1. If we seek & seek & seek & seek & never find, then we may live a dejected life.
2. If we do not knowingly seek, and then we find that which we never dreamed of finding & that which we never knew even existed, then we will live a blessed life.
When I was a child, oftentimes we would drive to Wolcott, Indiana to my great-grandparents’ home. This journey became a standard Sunday afternoon adventure because my dad thoroughly enjoyed sharing time with my great-grandfather, one they called “the renegade” when he was still a young boy living in Science Hill.
That my great-grandmother ever “took up” with this young man is another story for another day, so I will not digress to that story today.
Instead, let me share about my childhood, the Sunday afternoons after Sunday worship, those days when we drove for at least an hour to finally reach the driveway that led to my great-grandparents’ small home that sat up the driveway, behind the larger, more stately home that sat near the road.
Truly, I loved going to their house (so much) because it held a wealth of treasure; yet, it was the LARGE BARN adjacent to their front driveway that held my fascination. My brother and I shared hours and hours and hours of play within the secret passages of this massive barn. For sure, if I could go back into my childhood and purchase one structure to bring to my adulthood…….THAT BARN IS WHAT I WOULD CHOOSE…….because of the enormous hours of delight this barn brought.
It is a TRUTH, whenever we SEEK & SEEK & SEEK & NEVER FIND (especially when we know clearly that which we are seeking, but cannot ever find), well, that just brings frustration.
My brother and I would enter this oversized barn together (at ground level), and then he would take off in one direction while I went the opposite direction. The most wonderful part of this “huge” barn was found in the secret stairways that existed. Even today, I believe I could lose myself inside this barn because one stairway seemed to lead to the lower level of the barn, but then when I ran down those same stairs a second time, they appeared to lead to another location, another side of the barn. Now, maybe that was just because I was a child, and maybe that was just because the barn held great wonder and confusion…..OR…..Maybe it was because these secret passages are much like some people today who seek & seek & seek & seek but never find “real joy” in this life because they are seeking joy in the wrong passageway.
Whenever we FIND THAT WHICH WE NEVER DREAMED OF FINDING (especially like those secret passageways revealed) we did not clearly know that which we were even seeking in the first place. That revelation just brings surprise and pure joy. As I mentioned, my brother and I would enter the massive barn together (at ground level), and then we would take off in opposite directions.
As I mentioned, the most wonderful part of this “great barn” was found in the secret stairways that existed…….&…….some of those secret passageways led UPSTAIRS toward the loft. Upon this loft, there was a long rope that hung from the upper rafters. After exploring the secret passageways from the deep parts of the barn, and after seeking one another inside that wonderfully, large barn, then we would meet in the loft……TOGETHER…….where we found that which we never dreamed of finding………PURE JOY, yes, JOY that can only be found as a child when we are exploring together, swinging together, and enjoying life together.
SEEKING & THEN FINDING JOY…….THAT WHICH WE NEVER DREAMED OF FINDING!!!
1. We can choose to never seek, & we will never find (truly a path that leads to a dejected life).
OR……….
2. We can choose to seek, and then surprisingly find a secret passageway that leads UP, one we never dreamed of finding (& truly that is a path that leads to a joy-fulled life).
In the Bible, there are many passages that reveal seeking and finding. One passage is found in Psalm 34, one of David’s psalms.
“I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
The poor man cried, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”
(Psalm 34: 4-8)
FEAR.
FAILURE.
ANXIETY.
All of these are easily reachable (dejected lives)……..YET,
Let us Not grab onto our fears, or onto our failures, or onto our anxieties.
INSTEAD,
Let us grab onto the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!!!
Let us Seek & Let us Find…….HIS TRUTH.