Originally posted 3/10/06:
What I would say to someone who hasn’t had a response from God
Prologue
Hi there, well I thought about your question long and hard and I discovered it was a much more difficult question than I had anticipated at first
So, I spent several days in research and prayer and talking it over with my husband. Which seems like a lot for a mere post, but this stuff is really important it seems, because I just can’t get it out of my head. So here is my take, please forgive errors, both grammatical and theological.
To Begin
Logically if we are seeking weather the God of the Bible is true or not, we should look at what He says about how to go about finding him. By following these we will see if he is there.
Jeremiah 29:13&14
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from captivity.”
From this verse we can conclude:
a. You have to care with all your heart if you find an answer. It is not seeking out of nonchalance, it is earnestly seeking the truth of the matter because you care about what is true.
b. He says he will be found by you if you are earnestly seeking him
c.He does not specify how he will show himself to you.
Other verses containing God’s promise to be found if you seek him:
1 Chronicles 28:9
“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you…”
2 Chronicles 15:2
“…’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.”
Proverbs 8:17
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”
Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
2 Chronicles 30:18-20
“…..But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, ‘May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God-the Lord, the God of his fathers-even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
a. (God cleanses the sin of those who earnestly seek him so they can be near him)
Matthew 7:7
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ‘Which of you, if his son asks for bread will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
How do we seek him?
Isaiah 55:6
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
1.When you feel the urge to seek God, don’t wait
2.Turn from evil thoughts and actions
(this done through confession to Jesus in prayer to him)
Isaiah 55:8
“ ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
3.Be humble enough to realize that God does things differently and better than we could.
4.Don’t try to outguess what he has in store for you
Matthew 11:27
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” “Come to me, all you who are wary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(pray to Jesus, confess sins to him and follow what his teachings are)
5. Seek him through Jesus, our mediator
Psalm 46:10
“Be still and know that I am God;..”
6. quiet your hear so you can hear him speak
Psalm 27:13
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
7. Wait
Isaiah 30:18
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
8. Wait
Ways God reveals himself to people:
The Bible is filled with examples of God revealing himself to people. There are many different methods and he will select the right one for each person. They are not of our choosing.
I remember once when I was very small I asked him for the power to walk on water. I didn’t receive it so I felt slightly hurt by God. Now that I have walked a little bit more with God and read much more in scripture, I realize the powers and revelations he gives us are of his choosing and many times are not what we were looking for. However they are the best choices for us.
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Postscript:
Sometimes I didn’t feel like I had the strength to seek out the truth, or the knowledge of how to explain the truth to others if I did.
I think during these times God was working something else in my life (like perseverance). But anyway during these times God showed me a great truth to cling to …. And he did it through a children’s book
The Witch:
‘Come, all of you. Put away these childish tricks. I have work for you all in the real world. There is no Narnia, no overworld, no sky, no sun, no Aslan.’
………..
Puddleglum:
‘Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one.’
……..
Puddleglum:
‘I’m on Aslans’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it.’
John 20:29 “ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
I think sometimes we need to follow just because we know it’s right, not because we understand or can prove anything…
Luke 18:16 “But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”