The Benefits of Seeking
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:45 that God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.
I believe he was saying that God allows even those who do not love him to experience the basic blessings of life.
Sun and rain.
Two things that our world is kind of dependent upon.
If God allows all to experience the basic blessings of life, what makes your life different?
It is seeking and abiding.
Seeking the Lord is the key to surviving the drought.
I heard a a farmer say the other day that we are in a drought which could have a negative effect on the harvest of this year. Rain helps the crops produce to their fullest potential, so it is important to have a good amount of rain every year.
However, this farmer was wise.
He knew that as important as this year's rain is to produce the greatest harvest, which translates to income, that plants develop fortitude in their root system when there is not enough rain.
A lack of rain causes a crop to focus its energy on developing a deeper root system. When a plant does not get enough moisture from above, it goes deeper in the soil to find ground water.
It is seeking, which in turn produces a more robust root system that can withstand even dryer conditions, allowing the plant to survive longer than one that is solely dependent on rain.
A lack of rain creates a grittier plant.
While some plants take deeper roots during a drought, the trees or plants that are next to the river don’t even know there is one because they are close to the source.
This brings me to another instruction of the of the Lord, which is to abide.
Abiding is about where we place ourselves. To abide in God is to remain in him and be close to him.
If you want to survive the effects of a drought, and perhaps even thrive in one, plant yourself next to the source.
Seeking and abiding are what sets the believer apart from the unbeliever.
Although the unbeliever may be able to receive good things in life, like the sun and the rain, they won’t be able to withstand the hardships of life.
Many times we ask the Lord to bless us, and we don’t see the answer because the answer is to seek first.
Seeking isn’t looking for the blessing, it's going deeper to find a more secure source. It’s transplanting ourselves from the desert of hopelessness to the river of life.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 gives us a good picture of the results of those who seek righteousness and abide in the Lord:
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit."
Finding the source of life is always a greater discovery than seeing the blessing.
It is a privilege, a discipline, and an act of obedience that produces long lasting fruit instead of a withering plant.