"Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near..." Isaiah 55:6-7

"Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

Isaiah 55:6-7

When I was a little girl, I loved playing hide-and-seek. Before we moved to PA, we lived in a large, rambling Victorian home in Parkton, MD. The house had a servant's staircase leading from the kitchen to the upper floors, and like many Victorian homes it had dozens and dozens of nooks and crannies and great places to hide. I was a master at this; being tiny, I could squeeze into tiny places; being mischievous, I knew where the best hiding places were, and being secretive, I kept those places to myself. Usually, I hid long past the time Rose & Hans (younger siblings) gave up searching for me, at which I would make my grand entrance!

You may hide from God as much as you want, but you will be found.  

God seeks us. We can run, we can hide, we can deny Him, oppress His gentle call upon our spirits; but He will pursue us with the fierceness of his love, like C.S. Lewis's Hound of Heaven, seeking you wherever you try to run. You cannot escape Him!

And that is a good, good thing!

Isaiah's constant call to repentance, and the LORD'S gracious response to our repentance is written in a manner that draws and calls and longs and woos us into His loving arms, with very firm statements on the consequences of following our wicked ways. God's patience for His people looks nothing like my own poor, sad attempts!

Seek the LORD while He may be found--in other words--God is out there. You may have felt the urgency of His call. If you seek Him, earnestly, profoundly and sincerely--He will be found. God doesn't hide himself from us. He is right there! Seek Him!

Isn't "seek" a funny word? There are many definitions to it. The first, most common one, is:

: to resort to : go to;

: to go in search of : look for; 2

: to try to discover

: to ask for : request

seeks advice, 3

: to try to acquire or gain : aim at 4,

: to make a search or inquiry for

(Thanks, Mr. Webster!)

There are many definitions!

God tells us to 'seek Him while He may be found.' Maybe that's a relief to you--perhaps someday He'll leave you alone, and you can get about your life, so you think. But did you know, that if you are His, you were chosen before the beginning of time, before your parents ever met, before you even existed--you were His. Nothing will take you away from Him. 

So just know--if you are running from God, it is rather a lost cause (in the best kind of way!) and a silly thing to do! You may play Hide-and-Seek all you want, but He knows where you are every second of the day or night. And your lost cause will become the best cause for which you ever lived!

Give up your wickedness, your unrighteous thoughts. Turn your heart to your Heavenly Father. He knows you and loves you, no matter what you have done or what has been done to you, where you have been; no matter the evil you have seen or participated in, no matter what the reason you have been running from Him--He hears you, sees you, loves you--and has mercy and compassion on you. He will abundantly pardon and forgive you. 

Do you feel Him burning in your heart?! Or does the thought that He might possibly care for you and love you make you want to run, run, run?! He seeks you. And because He loves you and created you--He will find you! So you might as well come out of your hiding place and run to Him, for He is waiting and will never turn you away.

But don't despise this great God! He calls and He calls and He calls and calls! Seek Him while He may be found and

give Him the praise and glory He deserves! 

And if you have met this wonderful, living, passionate God--remember that He cares for you. No matter how far you may have wandered from the fold, or how distant He may feel--He is there! He loves you! Seek Him while He may be found! He is right there--and His arms are open wide.

Have a blessed and beautiful day!