A Question.

Here's a question that I frequently ask myself: "Am I pursuing God or am I seeking comfort?" Or to put it another way; "Which do I most desire: the presence of God or a life of ease?" Of course the preferred answer is that I'm pursuing God; that I desire His presence in my life far more than I desire a life of ease and comfort. But is that always the case? Probably not, because there are times in my life when all I want is to have everything go my way. There are times when I want everyone and everything in the world to be ordered around my personal preferences. Also, there are times when I would rather not deal with service, sacrifice and obedience. You see, I want what I want, and I want it now! But this attitude is antithetic to the Jesus way of life who, if you remember, prayed; "Not My will but Yours be done." I want to be like Jesus, but frequently I am not...rats!

So the question remains, am I pursuing God or am I seeking comfort? The most accurate answer is that sometimes I'm pursuing God, sometimes I'm seeking comfort and sometimes I'm not sure what I'm doing. Which brings up another question, "How can I better know which I'm pursuing at any given time?" Here are just a few of my thoughts:

• If I pray with desperation when all of my needs and most of my wants are met - I'm pursuing God.
  
• If I stop praying the moment things start going my way - I'm seeking comfort.
• If my Bible is a source of inspiration and life change - I'm pursuing G0d.
• If I read my Bible because I think God might get mad at me when I don't - I'm seeking comfort.
• If I'm asking myself, how much more can I give - I'm pursuing God.
  
• If I'm asking God, how much I have to give - I'm seeking comfort.
• When I want a greater capacity to forgive others - I'm pursuing God.
• When I'm demanding that others forgive me - I'm seeking comfort.
  

I also want to know how I can ensure that I'm more faithfully pursuing God? I think maybe that I should start by asking, seeking and knocking.

• Ask God for an increase in my desire to know Him.
  
• Seek God for a clearer understanding of His truth as revealed in the Bible.
  
• Knock, knock, knock and then knock some more. In Jeremiah 29, God has promised that when I seek Him with all of my heart, then I will find Him.
  

Blessings,
PB