“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6, ESV)
Three minutes. Not five, and not just until a group shows up behind you on the golf course. Three minutes is how long the Rules of Golf allow you to look for a golf ball, with the time beginning “after the player or his or her caddie begins to search for it” (Rule 18.2).
You probably knew that the search time allowed changed in 2019 from five to three minutes. But did you know the clock can be stopped? Let’s say you are playing stroke play and search for one minute and find a ball, assuming it is yours. You grab a club, get ready to play the ball, then realize it is a wrong ball. That prep time doesn’t count against you—you still have two minutes to search.
You should use those two minutes, because they can “save you six”—two strokes on your score and four dollars for a golf ball. The same is true if you’ve been seeking something for most of your life, think you have found it (fame, fortune, power), but then realize it isn’t the thing you really need. It isn’t God.
It isn’t only those who have yet to enter into a relationship with God who need to seek him; those who know him should seek him as well.One thing God wants from his creation, especially humanity, which he created in his image, is for us to seek him. Today’s passage from Isaiah is one verse from a beautiful chapter where the prophet calls the entire world to faith.
The chapter begins, “Come, everyone who thirsts.” That thirst is the something I mentioned above. It applies to every person, because we all long for that which will quench our thirst. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that he himself was the source of the water that quenched thirst forever (John 4:14), and later he made a similar statement in a very public place (John 7:37).
But it isn’t only those who have yet to enter into a relationship with God who need to seek him; those who know him should seek him as well. I’m reminded of the classic signs that graced the fronts of small town churches back in the day. One of my favorites was, and still is, “If you’re not close to God, who moved?”
So there is a seeking God to find him in the first place, and there is a seeking God to know him more intimately. Both are part of why we are here, and that makes all of us seekers. And if you aren’t sure how to seek, let me recommend joining a Links Fellowship. These small groups are friendly to both kinds of seeker.
—
Lewis Greer
August 28, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Why Am I Here? 1: Bearing God’s Image
Why Am I Here? 3: Pleasing God
Why Am I Here? 4: Sharing the Gospel
Why Am I Here? 5: Living Sacrificially
Why Am I Here? 6: Being Transformed
Why Am I Here? 7: Using Our Gifts
Why Am I Here? 8: Living in Community
Why Am I Here? 9: Confronting Falsehoods
Why Am I Here? 10: Mirroring Christ’s Love