Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart
Psalm 119:2
Fishing used to be a passion for me. Because I lived near a lake and had a boat, I would go fishing nearly every week. Fishing taught me so much about life and patience. It also taught me about being focused on the catch. I remember one time, Steve, my mentor, and I were at the boat landing before sunrise. We launched the boat, and I drove that old red Suzuki Trooper back up the ramp and parked it. By the time I made my way back down the ramp, Steve was ready to pick me up, and we set out to conquer the fish.
So we went out that day to catch some of the most beautiful bream and redbreast you’ve ever seen. But there was a problem. It was me. I was early in my fishing career and learned a valuable lesson that day. I threw out a lure and reeled it back it. I threw it out again only to catch nothing. So I changed lures. Same thing. I threw it out several times and then decided to change lures again. This indecisiveness went on for some while. Steve just kept looking at me and saying nothing.
He was too busy taking fish off his line.
I finally looked at Steve and said, “Hey, I’m going to change lures and try and catch us some bass.” Steve looked at me and said, “Are you going to catch fish, or are you going to play with lures?” I started thinking…..
I’m not patient at all, and I also need to stick with one thing and focus on it completely. I ended up putting on the original lure and started catching fish. It’s impressive how the advice of someone who’s been there can change everything.
Seek His Word
The initial encouragement in this verse is to keep His word. So often, Christ-followers are pegged as being legalistic because we have a written document from our Creator that defines our relationship with Him. But in many ways, this is freeing for us. We don’t have to guess our next move. We are given great instructions in the book of James as to our conversations with others. The book of Psalms helps us through some of the most challenging times we will ever face. The stories of the Old Testament help us to see the need for a Savior. The stories of the New Testament reveal that Savior. It is an amazing book, and we should seek to follow its instruction for us.
Seek Him Undividedly
This Psalm tells us to seek the Lord in an undivided way; we should seek Him with our whole heart. What does that mean? It means that you can’t fish for bream and bass at the same time! It means that you cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). God not only desires our best, but He desires us totally. It’s hard to seek God’s will and chase after all the world’s pleasures.
Seeking God completely is hard for many of us because we’ve been conditioned to see things on television, buy things that make us happy, and do our own thing. The problem with that is that it creates a divided relationship between God and us. As much as we want to compartmentalize our relationship with Him, it doesn’t work. It’s all, or it’s divided. And from personal experience, a divided relationship between God and the world never works.
Think about it. I spent time seeking different lures and different fish, but when I put on one lure and focused on one kind of fish, I caught fish. The lesson is easy. Focus on seeking God and nothing else. When we seek Him, He will direct all our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
A few questions…
What are you seeking in your life that you think will bring the most pleasure? How is that working out for you? Will you commit today to seek God and His word with your whole heart regardless of your circumstances?
Pray today that God will give you the strength to seek Him with your whole heart.