Seeking God



In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.

“Woe to me!” I cried, “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:1, 4

The past couple of weeks have not been easy ones. It seems that the enemy is not content to attack one area of my life but rather likes to hit multiple targets and he has great aim. There is no avoiding the attacks. They are blatant, loud and disturbing. On one front I'd made up my mind to just not look at it. Ignore it and it will fade away. That didn't work. Meanwhile I continued doing what I do, seeking God first thing every morning, meeting with Him in prayer, reading and simply being together. From there I've had the strength to face each day and though there are dents in my joy by evening, I have my nightly refresher with my Abba and as promised in Scripture, joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

Our Bible tells us repeatedly that God is faithful, mighty to save and that He is our strength. We are called and encouraged to seek God, to draw close to Him and we are promised that when we seek Him we will find Him and we do. We are also promised that when we draw close to Him, He will draw us closer still and He does. It is easy then to see the Abba/Daddy side of God, to get used to His protection and nearness and forget about His majestic side. We minimize the depth and reach of His power.

The other day our pastor was talking about Isaiah's reaction to seeing God. He made a slightly chagrined, cowering posture to demonstrate how Isaiah might have reacted. He went on to say that we would most certainly react in similar fashion when face to face with God. I'm sure he's right. When we see God face to face everything else will disappear in the light of His glory.

What my pastor's words made me realize is that through this rough patch in my life I am experiencing a version of that revelation every day. As I said, each day I wake up and embrace the renewed joy the Lord has promised us. I speak to Abba, using words that He gave me, to claim that joy and peace. I then spend time with Him and I see His face, so to speak. I see where He is working in my life. I feel the comfort of His love flowing over all the things I perceive as problems and truly, though I know I will leave that quiet, sacred time and space and move into the ordinary, trying challenges of this current season in my life, I know the way to not just survive but to grow, maybe even to flourish and thrive. It's not a big secret. It's what we learn through the stories of Peter attempting to walk on the water, of Stephen before the Sanhedrin, of Daniel in the lion's den. Keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. His beauty and majesty will eclipse all of life's issues. We'll still feel the sting of our circumstances until we get through. We'll feel the heat of the fire but we won't be burned, not if we love, serve and seek our mighty God.

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