Gotta Have You Now

It's a great day, because I have life and God has me in his hand! I'm listening to him today from Isaiah 55:1-7. It's very short, but wow is it ever full of thoughts to dwell on! Don't miss out on what God wants to speak to your heart. He is inviting you right from this text, "Listen, listen to me . . . and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." That's his promise! Take a moment and read it thoughtfully, then again. . . . What are you hearing?

My eyes are drawn to this:

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. (v. 6)

I'd like to think that God is always going to be accessible for me whenever I choose to take my pursuit of him seriously. But God is saying something otherwise here. There's a window of time when our hearts are opened to God. There's a time when I will find him if I seek him. There's a time when he is near and inviting me. The implication is that if I keep putting him off, the window may eventually close. The door may shut. God wants a relationship with me, but I have only today to pursue him. Tomorrow may never come.

I think the limitation is on our own part, not God's. It's not that God will stop pursuing us but that we will become more and more insensitive to his voice if we keep shutting our ears to it. I use MS Outlook. When I first started keeping my calendar on it, I would sit up and take notice whenever a reminder popped up. But I found that often the reminders would come at the most inconvenient times. I would invariably be right in the middle of a thought I was carefully crafting or a phone call or a project. So I started ignoring the reminders with the intent of reading them a few minutes later. Now that I've done that enough times, something interesting has happened. I don't even hear the reminder alarm anymore! It can go off and I will not even notice it!

The most consistent problem I see that is keeping people from a life-giving connection with God is that they are in no hurry for it. Everything else takes priority. God is what they will focus on when their schedule opens up a little and there's nothing else pressing or entertaining to do. They occasionally hear something from God that sparks their interest, convicts them, or brings to their minds their need for God. But they lay it aside for another day. Maybe someday, when . . . 

But eventually they don't even notice when God is speaking to them anymore. He becomes more and more distant from their thoughts. They lose the heart to really seek him, so they never find him. Or the day comes unexpectedly when there are no more tomorrows for them. The window of opportunity is forever shut.

God, you offer me real life through knowing you, the source of life. You love me infinitely and long for me to be filled up with your love. But I know that you will not settle for being my afterthought. God, I will seek you now.

I would love to hear from you! Please share your comments below (choose Anonymous from the list or sign in with your Google account first.)