HowTo Seek The Lord (And Be Found Of Him)

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon himwhile he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man histhoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; andto our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isa 55:6-7).

This clarion call of the Prophet Isaiah, applies to you, dearfriend, if you are yet an unconverted person. Your life will not only bemeaningless upon earth—since it is so temporary, but your soul, which ispermanent, will be full of fearful torment and guilt for all eternity if youshould die without Christ. "Seek the LORD, and ye shall live," saysAmos (Am 5:6a). I would be naïve to assume that these few statements, willcause you to want to seek the Lord, but I want to urge you to consider what Ihave to say, for it is only because I believe there is hope for you that I cometo you with such ‘unkind’ words. Were I convinced that there is no way ofescape for you because of your rebellion, I would rather allow you to livepeaceably while you may. But having been in your position before, and broughtto realise how close I was to being plunged into a Christ-less eternity, Icount it grossly irresponsible and ungrateful to remain silent. "For thelove of Christ constraineth us" (1 Cor 5:14a).

I suppose, if I have your attention till now, that one questionthat must be bothering you is why the title of this article is worded in theway it is rather than: "How to seek the Lord and Find Him"? Theanswer is quite simple: unless the Lord finds you, or more accurately, unlessthe Lord first changes your heart, you cannot find Him. The Apostle Paul,quoting Old Testament Scripture, insists: "There is none righteous, no,not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh afterGod. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable;there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom 3:10-12). All unconvertedmen, without exception, is under the bondage of sin (v. 9), and so are not ableto, nor desire to seek after God. If unconverted man is unwilling and unable tohonestly and wholehearted seek the Lord, how can he find Him? Moreover, theLord Jesus Christ teaches that "Except a man be born again, He cannot seethe kingdom of God" (Jn 3:3). How then can anunconverted man seek and find the Lord? We see, then, that although Isaiah andAmos urges us to seek, you cannot be saved by your efforts at seeking alone.Salvation is wholly by the grace of God: "For by grace are ye savedthrough faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Eph2:8). You must be spiritually resurrected (Eph 2:5: Jn 5:24) and your heartmust be changed by God. At which time, rather than your finding the Lord, youwill be found of Him. This is why John Newton in his beautiful hymnAmazingGrace, confesses: "I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, butnow I see." He knew that he did not find God, but God found him—just asthe woman found her lost coin and the shepherd found the lost sheep (Lk11:1-10) and not the other way round.

So then, dear friend, remember that it is not ultimately by youreffort that you will experience conversion. "All ourrighteousnesses," says Isaiah "are as filthy rags" (Isa 64:6).Your seeking does not guarantee that you will find God. But you have great hopeof salvation if you seek. Jonathan Edwards, the Great Puritan philosophertheologian was referring to this hope when he says: "God usually givesuccess to those who diligently, and constantly, and perseveringly seekconversion" (Sermon on Hosea 5.15, in Works 2.87b). On the other hand, if you donot heed the call to seek, you are almost guaranteed to perish in your sins.

Oh, friend, this is a matter of such grave importance. Youreternal destiny is at stake. I am aware that you do not know Christ, not tomention love Him and embrace Him, but I am sure you care about your soul. Youmay not have thought about your soul but you know you have a soul because youhave a sense of morality that animals do not have. As such, may I urge you tospend some time to think and ponder about where your soul, that is you, willgo, if you should die tonight. Reflect on your life and think about yoursinfulness in the eyes of the most holy God. Yes, God is not only a God oflove, but He is a God of absolute justice and holiness. The prophet Habbakuksays of the Lord "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canstnot look on iniquity" (Hab 1:13a). If you remain in your sin,—and you willunless you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and represented by Christ,—you willbe cast into the darkness and torments of hell to suffer intolerable damnation.It is written in the Scriptures, "It is appointed unto men once to die,but after this the judgement" (Heb 9:27). In the day of judgement, all thesecrets of men will be made bare (Eccl 12:14; Rom 2:16). Oh, will you notlabour to have a proper apprehension of the terrors that await you. And as youdo so, may I urge you: "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call yeupon him while he is near" To this end, may I offer you a few simpledirections on how you must seek. If you desire some thing more detailed, may Irecommend Joseph Alleine’s ASure Guide to Heaven or The Narrow Way by William C. Nichols.

Firstly, may I urge you to forsake your sinful way of life. Isaiahsays "Let the wicked forsake his way." Do you know of any habits orsins which you know to be blasphemous or displeasing to God? Consider the wordof Isaiah: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God,and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Isa59:2). Are you involved in some immoral activities? Repent of them, forsakethem. Do you have or know of an evil habit—gossiping, lying, excessivedrinking—renounce them and put a stop to them. Are you involved in an immoralrelationship or are you often found in evil company? Unless you separateyourself, you will be dragged back to your old ways in no time. Yes, it is truethat you may not have complete victory until your heart be renovated by God,but if you are serious about seeking God, will you not muster as much effort asyou can to rid yourself of these habits, practices and friendships? Will younot re-arrange your day-to-day activities so that they do not interfere withyour seeking God.

Secondly, you must also make every effort to block out sinfulthoughts. "Let the … unrighteous man [forsake] his thoughts." If youare prone to immoral fantasy, if you are wont to scheme and plot evil, if youare bearing grudges and imagine vengeance upon your enemies, you must activelycast away these thoughts. Are you by nature a proud person, unless you humbleyourself, you may not expect to be shown grace (Lk 14:8). And yes, if you haveany notion of winning your way to heaven by your sheer discipline and outwardconformity to the Laws of God, you must banish that thought too.

Thirdly, although outward conformity to the Law, and use of themeans of grace—prayer, reading the Scripture, hearing sermons, etc will notmerit salvation, yet they are absolutely essential. "Let him return untothe LORD" says Isaiah. If you do not spend time to read the Scripture andto attend to sermons, you cannot possibly be seeking at all. "Faith comethby hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom 10:17). Prayer is also essential.Someone may object: "Doesn’t Proverbs 15:8 teach that the prayer of anunbeliever is an abomination to the Lord?" Let David Clarkson answer:"There are abominations in the prayers of a wicked man, but for him topray is not an abomination; it is the good and acceptable will of God, thatwhich he commands." Cry out for mercy, dear friend. Weep for your sins andplead for pardon for your great wickedness against Him. Appeal to the Lord totake away your heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. Cry out toHim for illumination when you read the Scripture. Friend, I cannotover-emphasise the importance of prayer and the reading and hearing of theWord. Indeed, I am fairly certain that if the Lord should grant you conversionexperience, you will be either hearing a sermon, reading the Scripture orearnestly in prayer. Bear in mind that not all will experience a dramaticconversion. Some of us may be overwhelmed by a sense of our burdens of sinbeing lifted, and overwhelmed by a flood of love for the Lord and inexplicablejoy. Others may feel nothing but be nevertheless convicted that our sins areforgiven. Though regeneration is sudden, it may not be appreciated or realisedtill much later. However if comes about, it will be through the Word andthrough prayer.

Finally, may I urge you to strive with all your might in youreffort to seek the Lord. Heed the Lord’s admonishment: "Strive to enter inat the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shallnot be able" (Lk 13:24). The word translated ‘strive’ is the Greek agonizomaifrom which theEnglish agonise is derived. You are to seekpersistently, wholeheartedly and diligently even to the point of exhaustion.The Lord does not guarantee you that you will enter if you strive—remember thatyour striving is in no way meritorious,—but He does suggest that if you seekhalf-heartedly, you can hardly expect to find Him. Edwards is surely right whenhe says:

It is most likely that God should bestow this gift [of salvation]in a way of earnest attention to divine truth, and the use of the means ofgrace, with reflection on one’s own sinfulness, and in a way of being more andmore convinced of sinfulness, and total corruption and need of the divine powerto restore the heart, to infuse goodness and of becoming more and more sensibleof one’s own impotence, and helplessness and inability to obtain goodness byhis own strength. (ConcerningEfficacious Grace, in Works 2.543a-b).

May I, by way of conclusion remind you that if you are deign toflee to Christ for salvation and embrace Him with your whole heart, that He isever willing to receive you. Though Christ indeed says, "No man can comeunto Me, except it were given unto him of my Father" (Jn 6:65). He alsosays, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that comethto me I will in no wise cast out" (Jn 6:37). And so He calls us,"Come now, and let us reason together… though your sins be as scarlet,they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall beas wool" (Isaiah 1:18). Meditate Isaiah 53. Was it for your transgressionChrist was wounded? Was it for your sins that He was bruised? If you trulybelieve yourself to be a worthless sinner deserving of damnation, it is evidentthat God has already changed your heart. Come to Christ, casting your burden ofsin upon him and embrace Him as your saviour even if you detect but aglimmering of faith. Yes, it is not great faith that is saving, but that faiththe size of a mustard seed. Do not wait till you have great faith toacknowledge Him as Saviour and Lord. You cannot have faith but that He firstchange your heart. But if that little faith is present, we have the assuranceof Christ that, "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shallHe not quench" (Matt 12:20a). Christ did "not come to call therighteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mt 9:13). If you genuinely believeyou are a sinner, Christ is calling you. Do you not feel the grievousness ofyour sin? Meditate on your corruption. Is there not pride in your heart? Isthere no arrogance? Is there not an attitude that you are better than others?Is there no jealousy? Is there no unbelief? Was there not an attitude ofdisdain for matters of religion? Is there no self-sufficiency? Is there not anunwillingness to put Christ ahead of your worldly endeavours? If you see thesein your heart, cry out honestly to the Lord, and realise that Christ canforgive you of them.

Will you not weep before Him like the importunate widow (Lk18:1-8) and give Him no rest till He grant you a new heart or gives you theassurance of a changed heart.