Diligence

Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Our sermon yesterday was called Pursuing God and the opening scripture the one above. For the true believer this is done with diligence which is described as with haste, earnestness, striving after anything, interest, one's self most earnestly. 

I'll tell you the scripture above touched a few hearts. It's all about faith. A lot of people I know are faithfully waiting on God for something. By faith we believe all that God has promised. By faith we believe that He exists. By faith we believe that nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible with God...not always happening, but still not impossible. The question has been asked several times, if our prayers aren't answered will we still trust God? My answer, who else can I trust? 

Driving to church I was trying to imagine how much more there is to God than what we see. What might it be like to stand before God someday? Standing probably will not happen for me. I will be flat on my face before Him. We can look around us and see His beauty, His character, His nature, but with our finite minds, we cannot possibly comprehend the absolute greatness of who He is. We just can't comprehend Him. Our minds can't go there. It is purely by faith that we know some day we will understand. We cannot comprehend all He is. 

I remembered a part of a study from the Book of Revelation where the angels in heaven were heard crying out, Holy, holy, holy. They did this 24/7. Can you imagine doing that? I sure can't, but imagine seeing Him face to face...which even seems impossible. We don't know what it will be like and how we will react. It was said that perhaps these angels, for every "holy" they cried out, they were seeing yet another of the infinite...infinite...attribute of God. It will go on for eternity.

People, we think we are so smart. We might have degrees, even really fancy ones. We might have the highest IQs. We might be able to quote scripture or have memorized poetry or lines from movies, even know the stats of our favorite ball team from today to years past. We may be successful in whatever we do. We may be well-known in business or sports or entertainment. But the fact is, we are absolutely nothing without God. None of this matters more than He. Our pastor said he heard one time, The answer is always Jesus. So what is the question? 

Diligently seeking the Lord will provide some knowledge but certainly not all. I know that one day every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord, out of absolute reverence for Him. Not one will be able to not do it. Some will still hang on to their rebellion against Him, but they will bow. Their end will not be good. I pray when I bow it will be out of sheer love and humility before Him. 

So in the beginning here I said our minds cannot comprehend Him and all He is. This is what faith is all about. Faith in what we cannot see, touch, taste, or smell. Nothing. We just have to believe...and look forward to the day, with hearts just bursting, that we will see a glimpse of more than we can know with our finite minds. I long for the day when I hear or participate in all the holy, holy, holies. I long for the day when my faith becomes sight and I see Him face to face. I long to see the greatest Promise of all.

We are to pursue Him today. We will get glimpses of Him but only glimpses. Our earthly bodies or minds would not be able to tolerate more than the little we do see. Those who diligently seek Him will be rewarded someday. Hallelujah. I hope this includes you. 

Oh, Lord, how I love You.

Romans 11:33-34 - Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?