8-27-2015

Good Morning All!!                       

     Job 23:3; “If only I knew where I could find God!  I would go where he lives.”

      This might not make a lot of sense to some of you but there was a time not too long ago when trying to find out where someone lived was a chore in rural America.  Most people’s mailing address was a box number and really gave you little idea of where the physical address was.  You could purchase a thing called a “plot book” that showed the ownership of the land but those were expensive.  Then we were given what was called an “E911” address.  Each road was numbered and each physical address had a number.  All of a sudden, you could drive right to anyone’s farm with only the address to find it.  Now when you call in a fire or need an ambulance, you have to tell them “55512 994 Street” and not “the old Smith place”.   Personally, I liked it when the only way to find me was for you to ask me.  Now, when you add in GPS; anybody can find anywhere.

    Sometimes finding people is easy but sometimes it is hard.  Sometimes people don’t want to be found so they do things to make it difficult to find them.  They might move often or they may only have a post office box so their actual location is hidden.  If they really want to hide; they change their name and do their best to hide their trail oftentimes using cash instead of credit cards or checks.  Of course sometimes the reason it is hard to find someone is because we are looking in the wrong place.

    Often times we read or hear of people speaking about “trying to find God.”  You almost get the impression that it is kind of like finding Waldo; somehow God is hidden in a picture that is difficult to see.  The truth is very different.  If you want to find God you need to look for him where he said he would be and that is in his Word and in his sacraments.  When you look for him there, you will find him.  When you approach him in the reverence of his Word and call upon him faithfully, he will be with you.  He has promised this in his Word, the Bible.  It is here that God is found.

    So if you can’t “find” God, first make sure you are looking in the right place.  You won’t find him in the butler closet waiting to bow to your every demand.  You won’t find him in the wishing well waiting for your shiny penny.  He is where he said he would be and that is speaking to us through his Word, calling us to repent of our sin and to be faithful to his Word.  That is where we will find God.  We may not find the answers that we want to find; our selfish desires and motives are not always the best for us and these desires may not follow God’s will.  Yet God invites us to be his family, to be his children.  God invites us to rest safely and securely in his arms.  This is where we find our peace and our hope.

Father of all mercy, lead me to find you.  Guide me to your Holy Scriptures.  Help me to listen to your Words that I might cling to your grace.  Lead me to find in you the peace that the world does not know.  Give to me your holy rest.  In the precious name of Jesus, I pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret