Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek…

Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him. (I Chronicles 16:11)

Our verse for today is part of a thanksgiving psalm that King David composed. It was meant to be sung by Asaph and his fellow Levites when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem and placed in the tent that David had pitched for it.

This part of David’s psalm counsels that we should “search for the Lord.” What does it mean to search the Lord? To search for the Lord means that we decide to turn away from everything else and turn to the Lord. It is to enter into the Lord’s presence. This can be done in a number of ways, but perhaps it is primarily done through prayer and through reading the Bible. When people search for the Lord they are expressing the desire to enter into a personal relationship with the Lord in order to bless Him and in order to be blessed by Him (Psalm 134:1-3).

David also counsels that there is one particular blessing of the Lord that we should search for. We should search for His strength. People who search for the Lord are people who know that trying to accomplish anything on their own apart from His strength and ability is a losing proposition. Trying to go it alone apart from the Lord leads us nowhere and wears us out. Searching and seeking the strength of the Lord is an absolute necessity if we are to accomplish anything in this world that is worth accomplishing.

Finally, David counsels that we should continually seek the Lord. This does not mean that we should exclusively relate to the Lord and neglect our relationships to other people and to the natural world. It means that we should regularly search for and seek the Lord. It means that we should keep the lines of communication open to Him and regularly turn away from our other relationships and focus our attention on Him. The person who continually seeks the Lord is a person who knows how important it is to be in a personal relationship with Him.

Search for the Lord today, for the Lord God blesses those who bless Him. Indeed, the Lord God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.