Spiritual Searchers

 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

The Rock Band Kansas was a favorite of mine when I was a teenager and I still enjoy listening to them today.

Terry Livgren was a founding member, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter for the band. I heard his testimony about when he was a boy and three family members died one after the other. It profoundly affected him. He later delved into philosophy and religion, but he was not a fan of Christianity. He tried to find every way to God except the Christian faith, but finally he said he wanted the truth even if it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. A Christian musician from another band debated Terry about who Jesus was and finally was able, using the Bible, to convince Terry Livgren to become a Christian.

The early Kansas albums very much reflect the longing of a spiritual searcher. I think that is what makes the band’s music relatable. We have all been spiritual searchers like Terry. Thankfully, Mr. Livgren found his way to Jesus and discovered peace and spiritual satisfaction by doing so.

It is the same with us. Nothing else on this earth can satisfy us spiritually. Only a relationship with Jesus can fill the longings of our soul and spirit.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for revealing Yourself to us spiritual searchers. Open the eyes of those seeking, but who have not yet discovered You so that they too can find the only true spiritual path. Amen. 

Be Still And Wait For The Lord

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10 (ESV)

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

Some of the hardest times of my life have involved waiting. Particularly waiting to recover from a flareup of an illness, but also any problem that created fear or worry. Waiting for difficult situations to be resolved isn’t easy. Very often I find myself in a holding pattern waiting for God to work things out. Occasionally a problem is resolved quickly, and that is such a blessing. But not infrequently a problem takes much longer than I would like for it to be resolved.

Too often waiting is not the only challenge, but “being still”. I become like my youngest grandchild who is two years old and can’t sit still for any length of time but has to be moving and doing something. I often feel like I must be “doing something” to fix the problem even after saying to the Lord that I’m trusting Him with the outcome. Having to sit still and wait for the Lord is often a struggle.

How many times have we asked the Lord to solve something for us, only to immediately take the situation into our own hands and try to solve it ourselves? Too often we waste lots of effort trying to solve issues that are beyond us and that can only be worked out by Jesus. Our futile attempts to fix problems bigger than us leave us worn and exhausted and even more worried about the situation.

There are times when God will direct us to take certain actions. But even then, we need to trust the outcome to Him. Yet, more often than not, God wants us to be still and wait upon Him. He always has a plan and solution that is much better than anything we could have imagined.

Trust the Lord with the problems and difficulties that come your way. And with His help: Be Still and Wait for the Lord.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Forgive our futile efforts to fix problems bigger than we are instead of trusting them to You. Sitting still and waiting for You to work things out is difficult for us, but often it is the very thing required for a problem to be solved. Thank You Lord for working out all of our problems in Your own timing and in Your own way. Amen.