Wisdom says,
“I love those who love me,
and those who seek me
diligently find me.”
— Proverbs 8:17 (NRSV)
Whatever we seek in this
life, whatever we search for, we find. We may find God if we search diligently
and long enough. Likewise, we will find everything but God if we do not seek
the Lord of our lives.
The matter of seeking and
finding is an essential truth. God does not isolate himself away from humanity;
it is more the other way—us against our Lord.
We may run and we may hide, but God stands eternally to be found if we would
want to find him.
Many of us have run. Many
of us have hidden. And many of us have not, for the life of us, despite our
searching, found God in that dry time. It appears God remains hidden; yet we,
somehow, have hidden ourselves.
Sometimes the season
beckons for us to journey into the desert away from the matters of comfort and
into the matters of pain. We wonder why when there seems to be no why. We are
betwixt and between spiritually, neither at home nor away, beside ourselves and
damaged in the present, perhaps without hope for the future.
We have gone from the
truth that God remains to be found upon seeking, yet upon our seeking he is
nowhere to be found.
Everything in life seems
to be pushing us away from the Lord—the
only one who can help us just now. When we have no Lord we have no help. Such a truth we take of the truth and
it makes us angrier than ever toward God; we say, “God we believe in
you, so show yourself this day, and make my belief in you real upon both your Presence
and my experience.”
Still, God appears vacant
upon our understanding.
We are increasingly
angered, yet we feel guilty—and possibly ‘judged’—for feeling this way toward
God.
But God is there!
But God is there by our
knowledge. God is there by our visual cognisance; we see the things of God
everywhere, even if we don’t feel him. We see God working in others’ lives and
that is evidence enough for us. It is best for us, just now, not to panic. God
is real, he is here, and he will reveal himself in the right way at the right
time.
For this we have faith.
***
God says, “Seek me and you shall find me; wisdom
to live your life.” But
then God disappears upon our experience for a time. Such a time in the desert
wilderness isn’t God turning his back; no, our faith is being refined,
fortified, renewed upon the discrete resources of the Lord our God. We are not being weakened, but strengthened.
And our search will not be in vain. Our faith experience is being elevated and
a closer relationship with God is to be had. We have both a hope and a future;
God is central.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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