‭‭‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

God desires for us to seek His will and bring Him glory. From an unknown Author, “What is for me, will not pass by me.” Ultimately God wants to bless us with all good things. If He orchestrated it, His will prevails. Now take a moment to read the message version of today’s verse in Psalm 34:10 — Young lions on the prowl get hungry, but God-seekers are full of God.

To be God-seekers, we should be full of God. In the song, Jesus Have It All by Jeremy Riddle he sings, “Your will is what I want.” It isn’t always easy to pray for God’s will.. When we are full of God, we get more and more hungry for Him and His will for us.

Let’s pray. Dear God, Your will is what I want. I desire to be full of Your love, to honor You and bring You glory. I desire Your goodness to follow me all the days of my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

What does it mean to seek to understand? It means to really listen before we form a thought, an opinion, or a response. Author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey says, “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” With this in mind, I want us to really be intentional with listening to God and those He presents in our pathways. Let’s seek God first and listen to Him before we respond. An inaction is also an action so even if we don’t verbally or physically respond, our thoughts and opinions can affect our heart posture. Let’s ask ourselves if our thoughts are Christlike.

In today’s key verse we are told that if we seek God first and all “these” things will be given to us. What are “these” things Matthew is referring to? Take a moment to read the full passage in Matthew 6:25-34 NIV. He is talking about worry. As a water walker, I encourage us to seek to understand when we are stepping out. Often we fall short with worry because we do not see the whole picture, but God does. As we step out today, let’s be kingdom seekers and seek to understand His Righteousness and all that He has to offer us outside of our boats. This leads me to my mantra for 2024, “Be a Kingdom Seeker.”

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for the opportunity to think and understand before I respond to You and to others through my thoughts, responses, and actions. Lead me deeper in my Christian faith by being a Kingdom Seeker. Help me to step out of my boat when you present an opportunity. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

The dictionary defines tranquility as “the quality or state of being tranquil; calm.” Let’s Face it, everyday life is full of distractions, busy work, and often chaos. For our sanity, it is important to find moments in our day to seek God and dwell in His presence. If not already in place, it should be a goal for us to have a place where we can find tranquility and peace. A place where we can feel safe to seek and worship God. 

In our verse from Psalms, it says to seek Him in His temple. This could be our church, in our quiet places at home, and even in our service. God is omniscient and His peace surrounds us always.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You that I can seek You and Your peace everywhere and always, forever and ever. Help me to offer Your peace to others in my everyday life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Bonus: When you have about 16 minutes in your day, I encourage you to watch and listen to, “You Will Seek Me and Find Me” by Grace For Purpose Prayers.

1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬ — Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

God has blessed me with many conformations for my word of the year over the last few months. I will be sharing these confirmations all week. I was reminded of an acronym I created earlier in the year on the word “strength” in which I start off with, “seek,” which is my word of the year for 2024.

Seek

To

Reveal

Every

New

Gift

Through

Him

In addition to our key verse, we find a similar passage in Psalm 105:4 NIV — Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

These verses tell us to look to the Lord for strength. If we look to seek God’s face and bring Him glory in all that we do, we will find all the strength we need. Where are you looking for strength? For me, it is in the gift of His presence, God Winks and the gifts each new day brings. Gifts come in many different forms. Just to name a few, this could be a text from a friend, a beautiful sunset, or completing a hard task. Of course, the most important gift is our relationship with Christ Jesus. As we look ahead to this week, and this year’s schedule, let’s seek God for His strength.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for the many gifts You reveal to me. Help me to seek You as the source for my strength. I surrender this week’s and this year’s schedule over to You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV — fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.‬‬

Today we finish the last 90 days of the year. Did you notice that today’s date is 123123 (12/31/23)? During the last 90 days, I had a purpose to complete something that I knew would be a challenge, but it was worth the sacrifice. Having a purpose for our endurance, the process to the outcome becomes obtainable. Synonyms for endurance are grit, patience, perseverance, stamina, strength, courage, ability, and capacity. For example, if I did not have a purpose for running, I would just aimlessly be running. I am personally not always running to win a race, I run for God’s glory and my health. How do we go through life with endurance? We seek God through all of life’s ups and downs by focusing our eyes on Him. 

My word for 2024 is, “seek.” I think today’s date of 123123 should be an easy reminder for us to repeat three simple words, “seek and find.” Let’s go into 2024 with momentum and motivation. What are you working toward that you need endurance? What is your purpose for endurance? For me, it is finding God Winks and the joy in the journey.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for another year. Thank You that I can seek and find You at all times. Help me to live life on purpose. Give me the endurance I will need for 2024. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV — Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.‬‬

Join us for See You Saturday!

(Today’s post was first published May 26, 2023).

Mark‬ ‭6:31‬ ‭NIV‬ – Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.

Have you noticed every day this week there has been an action? Sunday we stepped into the Potter’s Hands. Monday we asked God to lift us out of our pit. Tuesday we turned North. Wednesday we asked God to awaken us. Thursday we had new thoughts. Today we rest with God.

We never have to worry about receiving an invitation when it comes to our relationship with God. We don’t have to wonder, will we make the list? Will we get an invite? Our social status is nonexistent. There is always a place we can retreat with God. Are we accepting the invite to retreat with God? Are we choosing to follow God? Are we choosing rest? 

I encourage you to look over your calendar today and see if you can be honest with yourself. Over the past few weeks have you taken time to rest with God? Sometimes we are forced to rest because of sickness or a change in plans. I am talking about true and intentional rest. One of my favorite quotes by Mark Batterson is: 

“Change of PACE + Change of PLACE = Change of PERSPECTIVE”. 

Notice today’s photo collage. Each photo represents a time when either Deborah, Ray, or I changed our pace and place. The opportunity to sit and rest with God just may be the rest our perspective needs. I hope we can all lean into God today and accept His invitation. Now I encourage you to look at next week’s schedule and carve out some time to rest with God.

Let’s pray. Dear God, Thank You for Your invitation to rest. As I look through my calendar, help me to find opportunities to change my place and pace to sit with You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.