Last week we began thinking about what we’re seeking in the new year.
Sadly, many seek relief in drugs and alcohol to be their strength. Unfortunately, substance abuse strikes all ages.
Satan’s nectar lies to the individual, giving them false self-esteem and courage. Their strength lasts only as long as the substance’s influence on their mind.
The Proverb writer told us: “Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last, it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again” (Prov. 23:29-35).
The lives of so many who seek relief in substances end in heartache. If they would seek our God, their lives would be so blessed.
All men need to learn to seek God rather than the things of the world.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 Jno. 2:15 – 17).
God can and will deliver all who trust in him and obey his commands. All need look to seek out God and his word to guide our every step, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).
We should all seek to please God. In his word, he has told us how to be saved. The Holy Scriptures tell of the importance of faith. But without faith, it is impossible to please him: For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6).
Some would stop here, but God’s word tells that there is more to be done. God commands that we repent of our sins.
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Why is it so hard to believe God? We are to have faith in Jesus as the Son of God, repent of our sins, and then we are to confess the name of Christ as the Son of God.
“… And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”(Acts 8:38).
The next thing we see through God’s word is that we are to be baptized for the remission of our sins: “Then Peter said unto them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins’” … (Acts 2:38).
If this passage is not plain enough, Peter makes it even plainer: “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (I Peter 3:21).
So, what are you seeking? Open up God’s word and seek out the truths that will benefit you here and in eternity.