(2.5 minute read) Ryan has a wonderful family, a wife and three young kids. Ryan has been laid off and he is seeking employment.  Jobs are scarce and Ryan is seeking diligently. He has to find a job as he is the sole provider for his family.

He was talking to a friend about his pursuit of a job, and his friend assured him that there is a job out there for him, probably just around the corner, and that he just should look harder, and try more diligently and surely he will find a job.

Poor Ryan, he is not leaving a stone unturned, he is asking friends, searching the internet and walking into facilities that are not even posting jobs. Finding a job is proving elusive and Ryan is at his wit’s end. He does not know where else to look, to search or to find a job. Ryan is feeling that the world is slowly closing in on him, closing so tightly that he is starting to get anxiety attacks. That feeling that his chest is squeezed between two walls and he is unable to breath. Ryan’s chase, pursuit, and search continue. He is seeking employment……

This word ‘seek’ is actually used repeatedly in the Bible, and we use this word ‘seek’ often to describe aspects of our relationship with God. Yet we know in our minds very well that God is not elusive, God is not hiding and definitely is here with us always, therefore He is not hard to find. Then why does the Bible so often use this word ‘seek’?

In the Hebrew language the word repeatedly used for ‘seek’ is actually ‘learn’, ‘teach’, ‘study’ and not ‘seek’.

Would you describe your relationship with God as one that involves a search, a pursuit, a turning of stones to find God? I hope not. For God is here, with you. But at many times it feels like a search, right? Would you believe me when I say that this is because how we’ve grown to understand that we need to ‘seek’ for God and ‘seek’ for His will………. It is how we use our language that impacts our state of mind.

If we are to teach our children to ‘choose to come to’ God and to ‘choose to follow’ His will, they would never come to a point to ask ‘where are you God’? When our children study and learn about our LOVING God, Creator and Lord, His will is clear, His will is apparent and His will is comprehensible.

Let’s remove the anxiety associated with the pursuit and with the search, and choose to use the words that best express the reality of our Lord and Creator. Let’s teach our children. It is how we use our language that impacts our state of mind. Let’s choose our words.

If you’d like to research the words used in Hebrew to express ‘seek’ it is the word defined in Strong’s 1875. Till next week  🙂