Seek the Lord

Seek the Lord, seek righteousness, seek humility. (Zeph. 2:3)

Zeph. 1:12, 2:1-3; Ps. 9:10; Jer. 29:13; Matt. 6:33, 7:7; Lk. 15:3-7, 19:10; Eph. 2:4

What Is God Saying?

Zephaniah and Jeremiah prophesied in troubling, dangerous times for God's people, who had become accustomed to thinking of God as a benevolent grandfather who might be displeased but would never really get angry. The people needed to hear that God meant business. The prophets' calling was to counter the spread of such fatal indifference.

Zephaniah says that God will ‘search with lanterns in Jerusalem's darkest corners to find and to punish those who sit contented in their sins, indifferent to God, thinking he will let them alone’ (Zeph 1:12, The Living Bible). They were like people nearing death by freezing. The last stage of hyperthermia is a comfortable glow from which one has to be roused before it is too late. The answer to this life-threatening indifference is, ‘Seek the Lord, seek righteousness, seek humility.’ It is the way into God's peace. These words speak to our times and our needs.

How Does This Apply To Us?

There is much in Scripture which calls upon us to do the seeking. ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart’ (Jer. 29:13). In salvation, the first move is God's. God sought us through his beloved son, our Lord, as a shepherd searches for one lost sheep. That is the blessed and beautiful truth. We love him because he first loved us. We seek him only to find that he has already been seeking us. We were dead in our trespasses, and it was God who made us alive.

We have reason to rejoice with the psalmist who said, ‘For thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee’ (Ps. 9:10). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of the blessing of seeking (Matt. 6:33, 7:7). God blesses those who seek in earnestness, faith, need, and desire. God honors and will bless all who seek with the whole heart. Zephaniah equates seeking the Lord with seeking righteousness and humility. These are the things that God, who came seeking us in Christ, wants to find in us for Christ.

Pray With Me

Lord, you have come to seek and save what was lost. In the hour of trial, when friends seem unable to understand or to help, when I have lost my will, when my soul has grown weary, I have never reached out in vain for your hand. You search for me like the lost sheep. I cannot understand why, but I know it is true. Oh, seeking Shepherd, your search is over.

Help me to seek and in seeking, know that I am found. I seek you, Lord. I read your Word with an open mind and heart. I want to meet your commands with humility. In prayer, I yield to your will.

Thank you for giving me your righteousness by grace and faith. Help me to seek both righteousness and humility. Pride is as constant and near as my shadow, but humility calls for searching.

I remember how he, for my redemption, once humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. Remembering this, I humbly seek you, Lord, and accept the gift of righteousness which is yours to give and mine to receive by faith alone.

In His name who is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Moving On In The Life of Prayer

Prayer is asking to receive, seeking to find, and knocking at a door God promises to open. Come to prayer seeking righteousness and humility. That is wanting the right thing in the right way for the right reasons.