Hide or Seek

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.

Proverbs 8 is focused on wisdom. Personified as a woman, she tells us what wisdom is in this chapter. I encourage you to read it. When you seek wisdom and start making decisions aligning with God’s word, then your mindset should begin to shift. How do we diligently seek, God, though? Is going to church enough? Is hearing discussions about the Bible enough? Is coming across a few Facebook posts that reference God or a verse enough? If you are diligent in something, then you are working at it, striving for it. Usually we think of working diligently. When we work diligently, we are focused like a laser on the goal or task at hand. Oh that we would be so focused on God's word and pursuing a relationship with Jesus.

When you were dating, or maybe you are dating now, did you pursue the person who was your heart's desire, or was it nonchalant? Now, I'm not talking about stalking here! I mean, did you want to be with the person as much as possible? Did you go out of your way to do things for them? Did you drop everything if they called to go somewhere or to come see you? That is being diligent in a relationship in my book. When we are so focused on pleasing and being with someone and when we are working to build the relationship - that is being diligent.

So, what does diligence look like when we are seeking God and wisdom? The main thing we can do is to deliberately read scripture on our own. When we seek God out on our own in the pages of the Bible, then we will find Him. Have you heard other Christians say, well, I read this before, but today it meant something different to me. God meets us where we are with His Holy Spirit, so that the scripture can minister to us in different ways during different seasons of our lives. God’s word is living and active as cited in Hebrews 12:4. That scripture goes on to say God’s word is a double edge sword separating joints and marrow able to judge thoughts and intentions. We are not just reading words on a page, God's word is alive!

Our culture right now presents itself as looking out for the oppressed and providing for those in need, but apart from God this is not our natural inclination. If left to ourselves, we are focused on ourselves, on power, and having our platform lifted up. God isn't interested in our platform or our personal branding. He is interested in His name being lifted up. He gives us wisdom so that we can be a light to the world and point others to Him.

Apart from God, we are prideful and arrogant. We want what we want, not necessarily what is best for the whole. God wants want is best for us, for our church, for our community, nation, and world. He made everything, and His intention was for all of it to glorify Him.

Instead of living into that, way back in the garden of Eden, we chose death over life. We chose our own way instead of God’s best for us. We have a way back, though. We can seek wisdom through Scripture, our relationship with Jesus, and fellow believers.

I encourage you to seek wisdom, seek God. Open the pages of your Bible, or open the Bible app that is so easy to install on your phone. Sign up for a verse a day and read it every day. We are getting into goal setting season: set a goal to read through one proverb a day for a month (there are 31, so it fits in nicely), or to read through the Bible in 2021. Read through one of the gospels - the first four books of the New Testament to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. Have the Bible app read the Scripture to you.

As we soak up the words of Scripture we will gain wisdom. Having wisdom, we will not be tossed about by every new idea or doctrine as mentioned in Ephesians 4. We will be like the wise man in the parable - our house will be built on the rock instead of the sand like the foolish man (Matthew 7 and Luke 6).

A song came to mind while writing this. Susan Ashton had a song in the late 90's called Hide or Seek. Some of the lyrics include:

Is it gonna be hide or seek, is it gonna be win or lose, is it gonna be pride that keeps you from the love that would save you. Isn't it worth a try, there's nothing for you to fear. You can't deny the burning question here. Is it gonna be hide or seek?

We have a choice. We can diligently seek after God, or we can hide from His truth and wisdom. I earnestly hope and pray you will choose to diligently seek Him.

---

I would love to connect with you on social media. Join our community on Facebook. Share how you diligently seek Jesus.

Want to go deeper in your own Bible study and begin to know Jesus better? Get your copy of Fulfilled: A Study of Jesus.

Do you love books like I do?! Check out the The Bookshelf for lots of recommendations. There are affiliate links included, so I will receive a small commission if you purchase something using the link.