Whilst there are people who will go to the doctor for minor ailments, it often takes serious illness or obvious trauma injuries for most people to go. Speaking for myself, I am not quick to seek a medical opinion for my routine pains. Going to the doctor means setting aside time, spending money, and with our private health care provider appointments beget appointments. But when the pain is bad enough, like when I tore the ACL in my right knee, even I will make an appointment myself and see the doctor.
This dynamic is similar to how many of God's people relate to Him. If we will be honest, it is in times of pain and trouble seeking God goes up exponentially in priority. I was reminded of this when I read Hosea 5:15 when God said concerning His people, "I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." For their sins God chastened His people, comparing Himself to a lion which tears the prey. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It appears they were unwilling to admit their sins until they had suffered at the hands of their enemies God allowed to buffet them, and they would only seek His face earnestly when afflicted.
When I read about all the children of Israel suffered - famine, drought, defeat and oppression at the hands of their enemies, death of loved ones, loss of their homes and inheritance - I wonder: what does it take for us to turn to God and seek Him earnestly? Why don't we seek God with the same fervour in times of peace and plenty as we do in troubled times? I don't really know that there is a single answer to the question. The fact is when it comes to people, we often don't seek God unless we feel our need profoundly. There will always be a cost to come to God in repentance, but the price of forsaking and forgetting Him is far greater. Let us seek the LORD earnestly while He may be found, trusting in Him alone. God has promised in Jeremiah 29:13, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
This dynamic is similar to how many of God's people relate to Him. If we will be honest, it is in times of pain and trouble seeking God goes up exponentially in priority. I was reminded of this when I read Hosea 5:15 when God said concerning His people, "I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." For their sins God chastened His people, comparing Himself to a lion which tears the prey. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It appears they were unwilling to admit their sins until they had suffered at the hands of their enemies God allowed to buffet them, and they would only seek His face earnestly when afflicted.
When I read about all the children of Israel suffered - famine, drought, defeat and oppression at the hands of their enemies, death of loved ones, loss of their homes and inheritance - I wonder: what does it take for us to turn to God and seek Him earnestly? Why don't we seek God with the same fervour in times of peace and plenty as we do in troubled times? I don't really know that there is a single answer to the question. The fact is when it comes to people, we often don't seek God unless we feel our need profoundly. There will always be a cost to come to God in repentance, but the price of forsaking and forgetting Him is far greater. Let us seek the LORD earnestly while He may be found, trusting in Him alone. God has promised in Jeremiah 29:13, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
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