Feb 21 – Seek!

“By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him. ‘I will rise now,’ I said, ‘And go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I love.’” (Song of Solomon 3:1–2)

If we seek the presence of God with longing and thirst, we will surely find Him. When we seek the Lord with our whole heart, He will certainly reveal Himself to us. Does not Scripture say, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8)?

Once, Mahatma Gandhi said to a missionary, “We must have great patience in seeking God. We should have as much patience as a man who sits on the seashore and tries to empty the ocean, drop by drop, using a single blade of straw.” The missionary did not agree with this view. He lovingly replied to Mahatma, “The more a person seeks the presence of God with thirst and longing, the more the Lord Himself comes seeking that person with desire and compassion.”

Just as the woman searched continuously until she found the lost silver coin, the Lord, in His immeasurable grace, has come seeking us. As the image of the king was engraved on the silver coin, so the Lord of kings has created us in His own image and likeness. Because we belong to Him, He seeks us. Should we not, then, seek Him in return?

The Shulamite woman writes, “By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him.” Yet, as we read in the fourth verse, she finally found him through perseverance and tears, and joyfully declares that she held him and would not let him go (Song of Solomon 3:1–4).

If we seek the Lord, He will surely reveal Himself to us. The Word of God declares: “The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” (2 Chronicles 15:2)

I have heard many testify, saying, “I met with a terrible accident, but at that moment I sensed the presence of God. The Lord Himself protected me.” Some sisters share that during the fear and pain of childbirth, the presence of God enveloped them and gave them peace.

Beloved children of God, it is not enough to experience God’s presence only during a few critical moments. Let us choose to live continually in His presence and to seek it with ever-increasing longing. Let us taste the presence of God and abide in it.

Verse for further meditation: “So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.” (Psalm 63:2)