Wise Moms Still Seek Him
Multiple lost-and-found missions are still vivid in my mom-mind. The search for my daughter’s orthodontic retainer in the school cafeteria dumpster and for my son’s hard contact lens in the Wyoming mountains play back readily. Adrenaline-filled quests to locate the misplaced are a regular part of mom/grammy life. We pray, retrace steps, excavate to the bottom of toy bins, and dig deep into car seat crevices. We seek for here-today but gone-tomorrow “treasures” for the sake of our kids, our pocketbooks, and even our own sanity. (Let’s face it, mom needs the bedtime lovey to be found as much as the two-year-old!)
Though the things we seek are often small or temporary mom-fixes, the wise men of Matthew 2:1–2 went to great lengths to seek the greatest and lasting treasure, the newborn King and long awaited Messiah: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.’” Their undeterred mission continued until they found and worshiped him before obediently re-routing.[1]
We, too, are admonished to seek him. Psalm 105:4 resounds, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” Like the wise men, we face obstacles, but we can seek the Lord through purging, determining, and praying.
Seek Through Purging
Moms know all about getting-rid-of, to make-room-for. We empty the dresser of 3T clothes to make space for the 4T. We disassemble the crib to assemble the toddler bed, and the pattern continues. We purge in order to position something else for priority.
The Old Testament outlines a back and forth pattern of evil and good kings. When a godly king wanted to lead the people back to God, a purging was often necessary. One such example is described in 2 Chronicles 14:2–4: “Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles. He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands.”
King Asa knew that seeking and removing went hand-in-hand. To fully seek God, the God-distractors needed to be simultaneously removed.
When we keep our modern-day God-diverters within arm’s reach, their lure is ever-lurking. Wholehearted 21st century God-seeking may involve deleting that app, blocking a particular contact, scrolling past instead of back, creating more white-space on our calendar, or cleaning out physical clutter. Matthew 6:33 instructs, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” We are able to come to God only through Christ and his righteousness—not on our own merits. But, as we seek to grow in relationship with him, we often have to put other things aside. If we want to “be filled with all the fullness of God,” we may need to purge anything that vies for first place in our hearts (Eph. 3:19).
Seek Through Determining
My 5-year-old granddaughter discovered a skill for basketball this summer. But, one day, after multiple missed shots, she veered off the court seeking something else to play. I beckoned her back to “end on a make,” so she returned to the grandchild free-throw line. With renewed determination, she shot until she scored.
Seeking, like loving, involves more than a feeling. Consider David’s instruction to the leaders of Israel: “Now determine in your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God” (1 Chr. 22:19). To truly seek something, a decision is required. Ezra, the priest, made a determined choice that had a far-reaching impact: “Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).
Scripture highlights the contrasting results between a determined decision, and lack thereof. In 2 Chronicles 11:16, we’re told, “Those from every tribe of Israel who had determined in their hearts to seek the Lord their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord.” Conversely, 2 Chronicles 12:14 conveys, “Rehoboam did what was evil, because he did not determine in his heart to seek the Lord.” The distinction is clear.
If we waver between the one true God, and “people’s gods that [cannot] rescue,” we sell ourselves short (2 Chr. 25:15). Salvation is found in Christ and him alone. No amount of determination can ever save us, but when we determine to seek the One who can save us, it keeps us grounded and helps us structure our lives around him. The everlasting, unfaltering treasure of Christ himself will be our prize. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us “that he rewards those who seek him.”
Seek Through Praying
The God who came down to us at Christmas is the God who wants to be found by us today. No matter what else this year held for you—if you sought your own idol, or if you walked off the court—this Christmas season is not too late to seek him in prayer. The God of Christmas is the same God of the Old Testament who promised, “if my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land” (2 Chr. 7:14).
Through prayer, we seek the Lord’s help, forgiveness, and wisdom. We simply seek him in all his glory as we engage in the gift of dialogue that he created. Psalm 34:4 beautifully relays, “I sought the Lord and he answered me.”
Our Kids Can Seek Him Too
We read of King Josiah that “while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David” (2 Chr. 34:3). While he was still a youth! When our kids see mom seeking through purging, determining, and praying, they will see first-hand what it means to seek the Lord. It’s the best present you could ever give them—a picture of a truly wise mom.
[1] Matthew 2:3-12
