I’m a big fan of the Indiana Jones movie franchise. As I say his name I can hear the epic John Williams score ring in my ears as Indie flies off into the horizon with the treasure in hand. Indie always gets the treasure. And he goes to great lengths to get that treasure. I love it when he starts his journey and they flash to a world map and that little red line marks off where he is heading. A usual Indiana Jones journey takes him around the world. Wherever he thinks the treasure is, there he goes.
It may sound as rather obtuse reasoning, but Indie could not ever hope to find that priceless rare golden statue that lied in the depths of the Congo jungle, if he didn’t actually go. It would be silly for him to sit in his office in Bedford, Connecticut and think he could lay hold of that exotic relic without ever leaving his city limits. You see, that’s part of the adventure, you have to get out of your comfort zone and go seek the treasure. You have to go and find it. And the biggest part of the journey to find the treasure doesn’t start with simply moving your feet, it starts with a thought. A thought that soon must give rise to a commitment within the heart.
There is one verse that drives my life. A promise in God’s Word that sums up our point perfectly.
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
There is an idea in our world today that somehow God is hidden. That He is mystically behind a thick curtain, keeping Himself veiled from this world. That His ways are secret, His desires are cryptic, and His laws are unknown and uncertain. Folks, the image of God that satan has sold to this world is one of the single biggest ruses ever achieved. God is not distant; He is as close as your breath upon your mirror. God is not hidden, He is in plain sight today, visible and available to all. His ways are not secret or cryptic. In fact, He could not be any clearer in giving us everything we need to understand Him. He clearly wrote it all down in one logical, concise book and left it for us to study and commit to heart. The only problem is that the world doesn’t want it.
His laws are not complex or convoluted, it’s just that the human heart and the sin it fosters makes them that way. A sinful heart in its natural unadulterated state is in direct opposition to the Word of God. God tells us exactly what He wants out of human marriage, but the world has altered and perverted marriage to be the exact opposite. God tells us exactly what He wants from a human sexual relationship, but the world has changed it to be as opposite as humanly possible. God tells us exactly what He wants from us as we walk in His righteousness, yet sexual immorality, pornography, drug abuse, violence, greed, hate, and pride fuel the turning of this world. God is not hidden from this world; He is in plain sight. It’s merely that the world is not seeking Him.
Today in 1 Chronicles 13 I joyfully get back into the groove of sitting with God. And in this chapter, I find a retelling of 1 Samuel chapters 4-6, the ark of God being stolen. Recall that the Israelites were getting whipped in a battle against the Philistines, so they arrogantly drug the ark of God out to the front battle lines to show their mean ol’ enemies who was really boss. But it didn’t work. God is not a magic genie and to prove His point He allowed his people a bitter defeat, and allowed the ark to be taken by the enemy. Ouch and double ouch. The ark causes major problems for the Philistines and they soon willingly give it back. And as they do, it ends up in the house of a Levite man in the village of Kiriath-Jearim. And it sat there for almost 60 years.
For 60 years, the temple that was built to house the ark of God sat empty. The Holy of Holies was void of its sole God intended possession. And the people were OK with that. Led by King Saul, the Israelites followed his example of getting into a rhythm of living without God. Recall that while in the wilderness, the ark of God would emit a huge column of smoke into the sky for the people to see, follow, and know that God was close. And at night that column of smoke glowed with fire, illuminating a dark world with the light of God. For the child of God, you knew that God was close. But under the leadership of Saul the people had slowly gotten accustomed to the absence of God. Slowly but surely, like a frog in boiling water, the people learned to live without God. And folks, one of the biggest certainties in life is this, live without God for 365 days and watch how easy day 366 is.
But King David is no Saul. David desires God. He yearns to be close to God. His heart longs to seek God and find fellowship with Him. And for David, nothing else will do. There is no substitute for sweet fellowship with your Heavenly Father. David is going to get the ark. He seeks it and He finds it. It’s still in the tiny little village of Kiriath-Jearim. I imagine it had a thick layer of dust settled over its fine gold engraving. I imagine it had cobwebs growing from the wings of the two angels that spread over the mercy seat. And I imagine the cobwebs that had grown into the hearts of those that had stopped seeking God.
What are you seeking today? Is there a great treasure in your life that has your undivided attention? At this time of year is the perfect Christmas your treasure? Are you consumed with wrapping, shopping, decorating, and family to the point that God is sitting in the corner collecting dust? Are you seeking money, advancement, power, fame, and making a name for yourself as God sits in a distant village, far from where you live? Are you seeking comfort and convenience, only wanting to keep your life free from the perils of the journey of seeking God? Our world today is consumed with the idea of avoiding the hardships of the journey to seek God. Why leave your house? Why commit yourself? Why risk your own comfort to seek God’s will when you can just sit back, relax, and live a simple life? You see, taking a journey is always hard. Taking a risk is always unnerving. Getting out of your comfort and convenience is scary and alarming. Folks, staying in your comfort zone will never move you closer to the treasure.
Today I pray that you seek God and His perfect plan for your life at all costs. I pray that you seek Him with all of your heart. That you’re willing to traipse through the jungles of life, across the mountains of hardship, and through the raging rivers of diversity to follow what He has for you. For in some of the greatest promises in the entirety of His Holy Word, God continually gives us a guarantee that stands the annals time. If you seek God…you will find Him.
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” Proverbs 8:17
“From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though He is not far from any one of us.” Acts 17:26-27
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10
“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him” Lamentations 3:25
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1
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