“As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God” Psalm 42:1, 2.
We live in an age of distraction where our desires are aplenty. Even the religious life has become complex.
The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found.
In its place are programs, methods, and a world of activities which occupy time and attention but never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallow inner experience, the hollow worship, and the imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods—all testify that we, in this day, know God only superficially, and the peace of God scarcely at all.
If we are to find God in the midst of all the religious externals we must first determine to find Him in the way of simplicity. Ever so often God reveals Himself to “babes” and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent.
We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to the essentials. We must set aside all that clutters our lives, and come with the candor of a child, or as “a deer that longs for streams of water…”
If we do this, God will, without doubt, quickly respond.
A.W. Tozer wrote:
“There is this evil habit of seeking “God-and” which effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the “and” lies our great misery. If we omit the “and” we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.”
The fear that in seeking God only will narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts is untrue. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One.
The person who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Oh that we seek and find Him when we seek Him “with all our heart”
Jeremiah 29:13.
