Seeking God

Seeking God
I know first hand what it's like to be seeking God and an understanding of the Bible, while being completely in the dark about both. There was a time in my life when I didn't even know that I could actually go to the store and buy a Bible for myself. I would say to my husband, "If I had a Bible, I would read it. Then I would know God."

At that point in my life, I didn’t know anyone who had a Bible. I never actually saw one until the day my husband came home with a surprise for me -- my very own Bible. It was so big that I had to use both hands to carry it. I grabbed it, went straight to my couch and started reading in Genesis. I read one or two pages every day. I read almost the entire Old Testament and didn’t understand one single thing I read. Then I thought that maybe I should switch over and start reading the New Testament. I did and the only thing that I could grasp from my Bible reading was that Jesus was important. I didn’t know why, but I knew He was important. I kept reading my Bible week after week because I earnestly wanted to know God.

Several months later, there was a knock at my door. Two women were handing out literature about God. I thought, “Wow, this is great, people who know God.” I invited them in. We talked awhile and then they asked if it would be alright if they had a Bible study with me. Of course I said yes -- I was seeking God and thought they were the answer.

We met weekly at my house for a Bible study. Regardless of what we studied, I kept reading my Bible every day. After each session, I would get on my knees and pray that God would help me to know the truth. I would say, “God, I don’t understand different denominations. I don’t know what is right. Please show me.” At this point, I didn’t know anyone personally who had any knowledge of the Bible except my friend Bobby, who lived 1500 miles away. I thought I was on my own. Seven months into our weekly Bible study the most amazing thing happened. Something was mentioned that I knew was wrong in my heart. I spoke up and said, “I just read the opposite of that during my Bible reading just the other day.” It happened again and again, to such a degree that I ended the Bible study.

Then tragedy struck. My basement caught on fire and caused so much smoke damage that we had to hire a company to come out to my house to clean up the mess. There were four small windows they didn’t have time to finish that day, so they told me that Rob would come during the week to clean them.

A few days later, on one of the coldest days of the year, Rob came out to clean the windows. He went into the garage with his bucket, but within a few minutes he was knocking on the basement door to come upstairs. He said that it was so cold and he needed to warm his hands. I asked him if he wanted to come upstairs for some soup and he agreed. As he sat down at the table, he commented on my Bible and asked if I was a Christian. I responded, “I have no idea; I have been reading my Bible for almost a year now and don’t understand anything that I’m reading. I know Jesus is important but I don’t know why.” He then told me about a church that he thought I might like to visit. I asked if he would be there and he said yes.

The following Sunday I reluctantly went to the church with my two young sons. I was so scared that I didn’t hear a word the pastor said. I couldn’t get over the fact that he was wearing a regular suit. Being raised Catholic, this was bizarre to me. I kept a tight grip on my boys and sat there shaking in my seat. I was relieved to see Rob, but for some reason was not able to sit near him. I went to that church again the next week and then kept going on a regular basis. I never saw Rob again after my initial visit.

Seeking God Paid Off
Finally, seeking God was beginning to pay off. Things were starting to make sense to me. As I began to relax, something started happening in my heart. When the Scriptures were read, I felt at peace. There was a definite familiarity about them. As time went on, I began to understand why Jesus was so important -- without Him we couldn’t know God. He came and died for all the sins of the world. I was finally able to stop trying to be good enough for God and just believe what Jesus did on the cross. I called out to God to forgive me through the death of His Son. He forgave all my sins and from that moment on, I had the assurance that I would go to heaven when I die.

As I look back, I can see that it’s truly a miracle that I came to know the truth. Through all the confusion of false religions and not understanding God or His Word, I now know God! I know how it happened too: I wanted to know Him and He made it happen. I was completely ignorant and “in the dark” about biblical truths, yet He moved mountains to get the His truth to me.

It appears that there is more confusion about God today than ever before. But I want to say this -- no matter what someone knows or doesn’t know about God, if they genuinely seek Him, they will find Him.

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “From there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.”

Seeking God comes with a Promise
The above Bible verse shows that seeking God comes with a promise from God Himself. What a relief to know that when you truly seek God from your heart, you won’t find some form of God or a false religion, you will find the true and living God. He made a way for you to be able to come to know Him, no matter how confused you are or how bad your circumstances are. You don’t have to be educated, famous, or wealthy. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old; male or female; lonely or happy; sick or healthy; or completely Bible illiterate -- if you seek God, you will find Him. God is greater than any obstacle you might face. He will get you through all the road blocks of doubt and fear, but you must continuously seek to know Him. God promises that while seeking Him you are never on our own.