Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. 1 Chronicles 16:11

Sometimes, I think I lose my keys more than any one in the entire world. There are times when I intentionally put them somewhere “safe” and then completely forget where they are. Last year, I bought one of those electronic tags for them, so that I can make them chirp with my phone. Now, when I need them in a hurry, I can ‘call out’ to them, and they answer back. The thing is: if I were careful with my keys, if my habits with them were more consistent, losing them would never be a problem. If you think about it, the entire old testament is one long story of the Israelites misplacing the key to an abundant life and looking for it in all the wrong places. If they’d only followed Him wholeheartedly, and not looked for better ways, they could have avoided so many mistakes along the way.

The Ark of the Covenant represented God’s very presence with the Israelites. When the Israelite army was defeated by the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4, they immediately realized that they needed God’s presence with them in battle. However, instead of going to the Lord in prayer, they decided to remove the ark of the covenant from The Holy of Holies and take it into battle with them that “it might defeat” the Philistines. They knew that they needed a movement from God, but instead of going to Him and repenting of their sins, they chose to try to “use” the ark as a weapon, and thereby force God into defeating their enemies. The Israelites had created an idol of the ark and looked to it instead of the true and living God. God, however, is not a tool to be used by us. He isn’t a “magic genie” to whom we go when we are in need, and neglect the rest of our lives. The Israelites were defeated in a mighty way by the Philistines.

Years later, David, having sought whole-heartedly after God through both good times and bad, desired to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. As I was reading through the account of David’s early reign this morning, it struck me just how carefully he did things. Yes, he made mis-steps, but when he did, he learned from the Lord, and trusted in the Lord. When David’s exuberance to return the ark to its place without regard for God’s rules cost Uzza his life, David correctly stopped and sought the Lord before continuing to move the ark. One of the great things that we can learn from David’s ups and downs, is that he never placed the blame on others. He accepted his failures, and looked to God to correct them. He repented, and turned from his sins. When we seek the Lord wholeheartedly, He is faithful to show us how to proceed.

David’s Psalm after he celebrated the return of the ark shows the depth of his understanding of a correct relationship with the Lord. It’s so much more than lip service. It’s a life that is tied to seeking after him in every aspect of our life, a life that constantly looks forward and back at the things God has done and desires to do in our life.

8 Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. 9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. 10 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. 11 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. 12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; 1 Chronicles 16:8-12

If we desire real revival in our lives, if we desire a life that is lived closer to the one true God, it will only come when we seek His face and do things His way. We tend to believe that we can handle things, that God is far off and we need only to call on Him when we can’t handle things ourselves, but in reality He desires to be a part of every aspect of our lives. When we are ready to submit to His authority over everything, He will begin to bless our lives in ways we can’t begin to imagine. Just as Moses promised the Israelites:

 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 28:1-2

He is worthy of our praise, simply for the sacrifice our Lord made to obtain our salvation, but when we understand that He desires to walk with us and help us through the trials of life in this sinful and fallen world, how can we not want to follow His lead?