Seeking and Seeing Him

I wrote recently about how I’m seeing God in new places. New pastures, specifically. And now, I can’t stop talking about it, and God can’t stop showing me more of it all.

Last week, I was reading the creation story from the Jesus Storybook Bible to our foster son at bedtime. I said, “Man…wouldn’t it be cool if we lived in a time where we could see God’s face, like Adam and Eve could in the garden?”

He responded, “But we can!” and yanked the bible from my hands. He flipped quickly to the back, to the story of Jesus healing Lazarus. He pointed to Jesus’ face and said, “Look. There He is.”

And that, my friends, is how a four-year-old schools you in theology.

God did extraordinary, supernatural things all over the Old Testament. He parted seas, sent a bazillion frogs and locusts, spoke and created the skies, and showed up in an unscathed burning bush. He was miraculous.

Jesus, His only Son, the One who was to save the world, was His biggest, most glorious miracle. And He’s alive.

He is alive.

We see Him everywhere—in our relationships, in answered prayers, in unanswered prayers, in the beauty around us, in grace, mercy, and gratitude. He’s in us, too, which seems absurd in our dark moments and obvious at other times. But He’s there, alive, breathing, living, within.

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is told he’ll see God. A gust of wind rushes through, but it’s not God—though God showed up in wind at Pentecost. A fire appears, but it’s not God—though God showed up in fire to Moses. An earthquake shakes the ground, but it’s not God—though God showed up in an earthquake at Mount Sinai.

Finally, a still, small voice called out to Elijah, and it was God.

I know that the God who spoke and parted the seas is the same God who spoke and calmed the seas. The same God who rose Lazarus from the dead ordered armies to overthrow entire lands. The God who died on a cross rose again three days later. He’s just beyond anything we can ever fathom, and what looks like mysterious distance is actually His closeness. God shows Himself in different ways to different people in different seasons.

He gives and He takes away, and through it all, He is God. He is good. He is steadfast. He is sovereign. He’s everywhere and anywhere, loud and quiet, world-shaking and whispering in our ear. He’s a God unbound by our expectations and limits, and I pray I never tire of searching for Him. Because—hallelujah—He never tires of searching for me, seeking me out, and pursuing my soul.