It is easy to think that God will always convict us to turn our lives over to Him until we do. But is that the case? This second devotion in the Should We Seek God? Series looks at when we should look for God.
Nuggets
- There will come a point when God will give up on you … and you’re done.
- God can’t forgive the unpardonable sin — choosing not to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
- Choose God now.
- We can meet God on His throne or on the mercy seat – at the foot of the cross.
To read devotions in the Should We Seek God? series, click the appropriate button below.
In the last devotion, we talked about how God doesn’t want us to remain in that sinful state, so He found a way to pay the price for our sins. When we genuinely seek God, we will find Him. He is looking for our faith in Him.
But we’ve got time, right? God isn’t going anywhere.
When Should We Seek God?
“… call upon him while he is near” (Isa. 55: 6 RSV)
Ooo. What does “while He is near” mean? In fact, the first part of Isaiah 55: 6 says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found …” (Isa. 55: 6 RSV). Does that mean God won’t always be able to be found because He won’t always be near?
Proverbs 29: 1 says, “If you get more stubborn every time you are corrected, one day you will be crushed and never recover” (GNT).
Let’s look at the back end first. There will come a point when God will give up on you … and you’re done. He is not going to come back and convict you anymore.
But why? Every time God has come to you with salvation, you said no. Well, more than that — you said no more emphatically each time.
What? You expected God to keep trying? You expected Him not to give up on you?
What? You just wanted fire insurance?
Can we say unpardonable sin? “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Mt. 12: 31-32 ESV).
You made your decision. You chose not to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Why do you think you will get out of suffering the consequences? God can’t forgive that.
But you knew the consequences when you were emphatically telling God no. “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Rev. 20: 12 NIV).
Yes, you did. God told you. He wouldn’t have called you and not told it to you straight.
So, When?
Don’t put it off. You don’t know God’s timetable. Don’t take a chance that this is it.
Choose God now.
It amazes me that God gives us a choice. As powerful as He is. As loving as He is. He doesn’t force Himself on us.
God knows what level of caterwauling would happen if He did.
But isn’t that just so like us? We think we know everything, so we jump up and down when someone tries to get us to do or think differently. We’ve got to be in charge of our own lives.
It would be so much better is we let God have control. He knows past, present, and future. He knows the plans for our lives.
Where Do We Seek God?
God is on His throne now. We may every once and a while get the idea that He won’t be seated on the throne until the end. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them” (Rev. 20: 11 KJV).
But God has long been on the throne. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple” (Isa. 6: 1 HCSB).
We’ve got another place to meet Him — at the mercy seat. That symbolized His throne and was part of the ark of the covenant (Ex. 25: 17-19, 21; Lev. 16: 2; Numbers. 7: 89).
Do you know where the mercy seat is now — at the foot of the cross. That is where Jesus’ blood was shed to purchase our redemption.
We know about that because God has given us His Word that tells us all about it. Just read any or all of the four gospels, and you will see exactly how and why Jesus paid the price He did — for you and me.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17 NLT).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3 ESV).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16 ESV).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11 NLT).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11 NLT).
To read Has God Provided Everything We Need?, click the button below.
Making the Connections
What? You think there is no way God is going to let us burn? He loves us too much to not give us an 11th hour pardon?
I got out of a speeding ticket in my younger years by crying. Do you really think that is going to work on God?
Do you really want to take that bet? I mean, if you are wrong, you are W-R-O-N-G!!!
We talked about this before. There is no way God is going to turn to Jesus and say, “I know I said that the only way humans would be given forgiveness is if they believed in the sacrifice You made. Well, Son, I’ve changed my mind. I just can’t let them burn.”
Not. Going. To. Happen.
Why? “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” (Num. 23: 19 NLT).
We have to accept God’s gift of mercy. We have to admit our sins, believe on Jesus as Redeemer, confess God as Sovereign Lord, and demonstrate that commitment by following our job description.
That is the only way. “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me’” (Jn. 14: 6 NLT).
How Do We Apply This?
We will feel the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He will make his presence known.
However, Satan is going to do everything in his power to mask that prompting. He does not want us to give our lives to God. He wants us to keep going as we are.
But one day, time is going to be up. Maybe God will call us home. Maybe He will shut down the offer.
There is a sunset on God’s offer of salvation. We don’t want to miss the offer.
It is better when we accept Christ when we are younger. Maybe it is because we generally haven’t done any of the bad things yet. Maybe we are just more willing to give someone our allegiance.
Luckily, we can have the promptings of the Holy Spirit at any age. It may be harder for us to accept there is a God and that Jesus died for our sins.
We’ve heard of deathbed confessions. Jesus told the thief hanging on the cross with Him that they would be together that day in Paradise (Lk. 23: 43). They are real, but they have to be real.
No matter our age, we have to genuinely present our lives to he Lord as Sovereign God. Our conversion has to be real. Now would be the best time. Don’t put it off and have God give up on you.
Loving Heavenly Father. We like to think of You as loving. Forgiving. Eternal. We don’t like to think that You will give up on us. We don’t like to think that there will be consequences to our actions. Forgive us. Send Your messengers to work with those who need to give their lives to You — send us. Forgive us of our sins. Amen.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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