Seek The Lord!

Seek The Lord!
Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord (1st Chronicles 22:19)

David had a made a big mistake in the 21st chapter of 1st Chronicles. He took a census. It was not the census that was wrong, but his motivation for the census. His motivation was pride in his army while forgetting that his real strength came from God (verse 1-6). This resulted in consequences of his sin being put in action. A great plague that killed 70, 000 innocent people was set in motion (verses 11-14). David cried out for mercy and God stopped the plague and told him to go build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David obeyed God and went to Araunah asking him to sell him the site at full price. Araunah told him to take it, but David refused. "I will not sacrifice to God that which cost me nothing" (verses 16-29). David made the purchase.

Out of David's tragic mistake came the purchase of a plot of land that would become the site of God's temple, the symbol of God's presence among his people. Whenever the people would go to the temple, they would remember that God is their true king and that everyone, including their human king is fallible and subject to sin. . God told David he would not be able to build the temple, but the task would be given to his son Solomon. In this 22nd chapter of 1st Chronicle verses 6-16 David charges Solomon to build God's temple with certain specifications. In verses 17 through 19, David turns his attention to the leaders of Israel, ordering them to help his son Solomon. He reminds them that the Lord is with them of every side. He tells them to devote their hearts and soul to seeking the Lord. Finally, he says, "build the sanctuary for God so that you can bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord" (verse 19 NIV).

What does it mean to seek the Lord? To seek the Lord means to give absolute attention of our life both inwardly and outwardly to a unique awareness of the presence of God. It implies a deep desire on our part to have our relationship with Him as the consuming passion of our lives. When we seek the Lord, we must use our heart and soul. Our heart includes the mind, will, and emotions. In a nutshell, the heart is the mind hearing God, your will obeying God, and your emotions under God's control. The soul is the inner being of a person. This part of us can only be satisfied by being at peace with God and can answer "yes" to God's Spirit convicting us of sin. Drawing near to God with our heart and soul is not a pastime; it is an all consuming passion!!!

My brother, my sister, be encouraged to seek the Lord. Pursue after Him radically committed to prayer, giving up all other distractions, and surrendering to see our sins through his eyes. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled (St Matthew 5:6).