There All the Time

Posted On January 24, 2021

“There you will look for the Lord your God,
and if you search for him with all your heart,
you will find him.”

Deuteronomy 4:29 GNT

Have you ever lost something and looked everywhere for it only to find it in the first place you looked? It was there all the time, but you just didn’t see it. I think this has happened to all of us. We try to find what we’re looking for, but our focus is in the wrong place and we miss it. Our brain can only process so much information at one time, so where we focus our attention affects what we are able to see. For an example of this, try the challenges in the video below.

As the man in the video reminds us, “We can easily miss things that are clearly in front of us, simply because our brain is busy doing something else.” When we are busy focusing on all the problems in our lives, we can miss God’s blessings that are right in front of us. Since our brain’s capacity to process information is limited, we must learn to change our perspective. We must turn our attention away from our difficulties and fix our eyes on God. Otherwise, we won’t see what God is doing through the circumstances we’re facing.

“I want to stay in the habit of ‘glancing’ at my problems and ‘gazing’ at the Lord.”

Joni Eareckson Tada

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”

Colossians 3:1 ESV

Randy Alcorn tells us: “Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:1 is to diligently, actively, single-mindedly pursue the things above: in other words, Jesus and Heaven.” He encourages us to spend our earthly lives preparing for our heavenly lives. But how do we do this when we feel bombarded by problems and we don’t how to find God in any of them? What do we do when we feel like we’re obeying God but life is still a struggle? How do we endure when we start to lose hope . . . when we start to lose faith? The answer is: we keep seeking Him. We don’t give up. Ever. When we don’t know where to find Him, we ask Him to show us His presence. When we’re struggling, we ask Him for His strength. When we start to lose hope, we remember the hope we have in Christ. And we start to lose faith, we ask God for more.

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24 NIV

I have a guided journal called The Weekly Faith Project that reflects on many different aspects of faith, including dealing with doubt. It suggests that when we are facing situations that cause us to doubt God, we should think about how He may be working in and through these circumstances. And it encourages us to call to mind the wonders of God that give us faith — to think about the miracles that speak to our hearts. Rather than shying away from our doubts, we can boldly face them and turn them over to God.

“Faith is not blind. It is with eyes wide open taking your trust and placing it in the hands of God. And it is also — with eyes wide open — taking your doubts, questions, and fears and placing them in His hands too. Faith begs, just like that father in Mark 9 for, belief to triumph over unbelief. It seeks the promised wisdom (James 1:5). And it prays for one’s heart, mind, and soul to be open to the daily reminders of God’s presence (Romans 1:20). Doubt doesn’t make faith dead; rather, doubt should make faith busy.”

The Weekly Faith Project

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

Romans 1:20 NLT

When we are dealing with doubts about God or about His plan for our lives, we can take active steps to seek Him. Here are a few suggestions that have worked for me:

• Take a walk and admire God’s creation. Thank Him for the beauty that displays His love and care.
• Spend time in His Word. Learn how He’s been at work in the world and in people’s lives since the beginning.
• Schedule time for prayer and meditation. Tell God everything that’s on your heart and then quiet your thoughts and listen for His voice.
• Don’t give in to worry or despair. Anytime you feel your attention slipping toward negative thoughts or feelings, redirect your focus toward God by turning those concerns into a prayer.
• Read a Christian book or devotional. Learn from other Christians who have faced similar problems or situations.
• Think about God’s blessings. Make a list of all His gifts and all His promises, and then thank Him for each one.
• Spend time praising Him. Sing a hymn, read a psalm of praise, tell Him how awesome and holy He is, or tell someone else about something amazing He’s done in your life.

The point is to keep seeking Him. Never stop. Anything that turns our attention toward God will help us find Him. It takes practice to remember to do this, but the more we seek God, the more automatic it becomes. The more we learn about the way He works, the more we begin to see Him at work in the world and in our own lives.

“Stay focused on what’s above, not on earthly things”

Colossians 3:2 VOICE

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

I love the photo above of 3-D glasses on the Bible. What a perfect reminder of how we are meant to read God’s Word: not as a flat, two-dimensional intellectual study that has nothing to do with our lives personally, but as a vivid, three-dimensional communication with our Maker. God’s Word comes alive when we read it with our 3-D glasses on! When we approach God’s Word in order to seek His will, He reveals amazing things to us. But we must be all in. We must be disciplined and dedicated to discovering and obeying God’s will. My study Bible includes the following note for Proverbs 3:6 about what it means to seek God:

“This fundamental statement of how to relate to God implies more than mere reverence. Nodding in God’s direction is not enough: you must know him by living closely with him, relating to him personally in every aspect of your life.”

The New Student Bible, NIV

Everything we think, say, and do should be a reflection of who we are as God’s children. Every moment of our lives is an opportunity to focus on God. After all, He does the same for us:

“Imagine the vastness of the whole universe, and then remember that God simply ‘thought’ it and ‘spoke’ a word, and by the power of his will it all came into being out of nothing. God also maintains everything in existence. Creation is not just a ‘one-time’ deal for him. Because God ‘thinks’ things into being, he must continue to think about them; otherwise they would go out of existence. . . . If he stopped thinking about you for just one second, you would go out of existence. What this means is that, at every moment of the day and every moment of the night, God is busy ‘focusing’ on you. He created you, but he didn’t stop there and ‘go on to the next person.’ His mind continues to concentrate on you, like a high-powered laser beam, even when you’re sleeping.”

Anthony DeStefano

God lovingly created each one of us to be a unique member of His kingdom. He has a plan for each of us, even if we don’t always understand what He’s doing. Since God exists out of time, He can see everything in our past, present, and future all at once. He knows the entire story of our lives, and He knows exactly how to prepare us for what lies ahead. That’s why we need to trust Him to lead us. But we can’t follow Him if we can’t find Him, so we must continue to look for Him. God promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT

Charles Stanley reminds us that when we put our faith in God, uncertainty about the future should bring us hope rather than anxiety. Like a puzzle with some of the pieces missing, we can’t see the big picture. But God can. He not only knows what lies ahead, He has the power to deal with it even if we don’t. God is always working, whether we see what He’s doing or not. Our job is to focus on Him and let Him lead us every day. When we do this, we can relax, knowing that He will guide us through anything we face.

“You may think it is difficult to pay attention to God when you face overwhelming troubles, especially those that seem impossible. . . . The first thing you must do is close your physical eyes, because they’re not helping. . . . Then you must open your spiritual eyes — the ones that are fixed upon God. Worship Him. Read His Word. Pray. Remember how He has helped others in the past, and thank Him that the mighty wisdom and power that was available to them has been provided to you, as well. God is ready, willing, and able to rescue you from the jaws of defeat, and He will do whatever is necessary to lead you to triumph when you obey Him. . . . focus your mind and heart on God’s truth rather than on what you can see.”

Charles F. Stanley

God doesn’t hide from us. He wants us to find Him. He wants so much to help us that He actually became one of us. Jesus came not only to save us, but to show us the Father and to teach us how to reveal Him to others. And Jesus reassures us that we are not alone. He was there at the beginning. He is with us now. And He will be with us forever.

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20 NLT

This week’s Scripture passages remind us to seek God and take comfort in His presence. There is a printer-friendly pdf version below the image. May His Word come alive and remind us that when we focus on God, all our problems fade into the background. When we seek Him, we will find Him. And when we get to heaven and look back on our lives, we will see that He was there all the time.

“But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, ‘Great is the Lord!'”

Psalm 40:16 ESV

References:

• Alcorn, Randy. Seeing the Unseen, Expanded Edition: A 90-Day Devotional to Set Your Mind on Eternity. Multnomah, 2017.
• “Concentration Challenge – Can you count the bounces?” YouTube, uploaded by Sentis, 13 May 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2PaH-NRBKY.
• DeStefano, Anthony. The Invisible World: Understanding Angels, Demons, and the Spiritual Realities That Surround Us. Kindle ed., Doubleday, 2011.
• The New Student Bible, New International Version. Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.
• Stanley, Charles F. 30 Life Principles Study Guide: A Study for Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.
• The Weekly Faith Project: A Challenge to Journal, Reflect, and Cultivate a Genuine Faith. Zondervan, 2019.

Images:

• Binoculars featured image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
• Eyeglasses image by Farooq Hussain Shah from Pixabay
• Sunglasses image by marion beraudias from Pixabay
• Telescope image by Capri23auto from Pixabay
• Bible with 3-D Glasses image by Chris Crowder from Pixabay
• Glass Ball image by Martin Winkler from Pixabay
• Camera image by JustWatch from Pixabay (edited by me)
• Rose Colored Glasses image by Mabel Amber from Pixabay