What Are You Searching For?

Reflection

There have been times in my life when I have spent a lot of time chasing something I really wanted. Maybe it was a vocation I was interested in pursuing, or an idea I wanted to bring to life. I have also spent hours searching through history, following names and records as I tried to uncover pieces of my ancestry. None of those things are wrong. In fact, there can be something exciting about having a goal and being willing to keep searching until you find what you are looking for.

But I have noticed something about myself. The things I treasure are usually the things I am willing to spend more time pursuing. When I believe something is valuable, I don't give up easily. I search a little longer. I dig a little deeper. I push through the tedious parts because I believe there is something worth finding on the other side.

That made me think about the way I seek the things of God.

Proverbs tells us to incline our ears to wisdom and apply our hearts to understanding. Then it takes the picture even further. We are told to cry after knowledge, to search for understanding, and to seek it as silver and as hidden treasure.

Think about how people search for hidden treasure. They don't casually walk past the place where they think it might be buried and say, “Well, I didn't see anything.” They look. They dig. They keep going because they believe something valuable is there.

Seeking with Purpose

What if we approached God's wisdom that way?

What if we opened Scripture expecting to find treasure? What if we kept searching when a passage didn't immediately make sense? What if we spent time asking God to help us understand rather than moving on because the answer didn't come quickly?

The things of God are not always found with a quick glance. Sometimes we have to keep reading. Sometimes we have to ask questions. Sometimes we have to sit with a passage and come back to it again. The more valuable we believe something is, the more willing we are to pursue it.

And Proverbs gives us a reason to search. “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”

There is something worth finding.

We can spend hours pursuing things that may satisfy a temporary curiosity or bring an idea into reality, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. But wisdom from God reaches much further than anything we can accomplish or uncover on our own. It shapes the way we live, the choices we make, the way we see people, and the way we understand God.

Perhaps the question isn't whether we are seeking something. Most of us are. The question is what do we consider valuable enough to keep searching for?

The knowledge of God is waiting—
Keep digging deeper.

Before You Go

There are many things worth pursuing in this life. We can develop our talents, build something meaningful, follow an interest, uncover pieces of our past, and enjoy the things God has given us to do. But there is one treasure that will never become less valuable with time.

The knowledge of God is worth seeking.

So don't be discouraged if you don't understand everything the first time you read it. Keep searching. Keep opening His Word. Keep asking Him for wisdom. There is treasure there, and the more you seek Him, the more you will realize just how valuable it is.