Daily devotion – The search for God.
The Search for God
Many people today are searching for God. They long to answer questions such as: What is God really like? How can we know Him? How do we relate to Him? Yet so often people form their own ideas about God. Those ideas may be shaped by culture, upbringing, personal experiences, or the trials and storms they or their loved ones have endured. From these influences, many create a perception of God based upon their own conclusions rather than upon His revealed truth.
As a young child, I had my own ideas of what I thought God was like. Much of that image was shaped by the great Bible epics of years gone by—The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, The King of Kings, The Robe, and many others. While these films stirred my interest, they could not answer the deepest questions of my heart. I wanted to know what God was truly like.
Everything changed when I came to Christ in March 1977. As I began to read the Bible with a heart that had been born again and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the answers I had long sought became wonderfully clear.
Throughout the pages of Scripture, and especially in the Gospels, God is revealed in all His glory through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ—the Son of God and the Son of Man.
As I watched Jesus interact with people, I saw the very character of God. I saw His compassion for the lost, His mercy toward sinners, His love for the broken, His patience with the weak, and His unwavering obedience to the Father. I witnessed His willingness to suffer without retaliation.
1 Peter 2:23
“Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”
The more I read the Gospels, the more clearly I saw God in Christ. Jesus perfectly revealed the Father in every way.
John 1:14
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Perhaps you are still searching for God. Have you found the One who is revealed in the Gospels? Or are you still holding to a god of your own imagination—a god shaped by your preferences, your experiences, or your desire to live life on your own terms?
The true God is not discovered through human imagination but through divine revelation. He has made Himself known in His Son, Jesus Christ. If you want to know what God is like, then look at Jesus. Listen to His words. Watch His life. Consider His compassion, His holiness, His grace, His truth, His sacrifice upon the cross, and His glorious resurrection. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
When you come to know Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures, your search is over. More wonderfully still, your shame, your guilt, and your sin can be forgiven, for He came to seek and to save those who are lost.
If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, why not come to Him today? Lay aside every false image you have formed of God and receive Him as He has revealed Himself in His Word. He will not turn away the one who comes to Him in faith. Instead, He will forgive your sins, give you new life, and begin a relationship with you that will last throughout eternity.
The God you have been searching for has already revealed Himself. His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In Him, your search can end, and your new life can begin.