The Story of My Life

If you seek him, he will be found by you . . .1 Chronicles 28:9

The simple story of my life, is that I usually find whatever I pursue. When I chase the twisted desires of my own nature, I find its destructive consequences. Indulging in my appetite for drugs led to addiction, loss, and disaster. Indulging in my appetite for unhealthy food has led to weight gain. Indulging in my selfishness and pride has led to immaturity, resentments, and misery for everyone around me.

Thankfully, that is not the whole story. When I do what it takes to turn from myself to pursue God, He always keeps up His end of the deal. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). In following God, I come to know the opposite of the pursuit of me. When I seek God, I find Him, along with life, joy, peace and fulfillment.

This was King David’s message to his son Solomon in today’s passage, and it is God’s message to us: I want you to seek me, and when you do, you will find me. This God-ordained principle is profoundly simple in concept, yet quite difficult in execution.

When in chemical dependency treatment, I had to look at my life and ask myself how I got there. The simple truth, and the story of my life, was that I got to where I was by walking in that direction for years.

No one wants to be addicted, overweight, selfish, resentful, angry, or miserable. No one sets out to go to treatment. We get there though, simply by following ourselves. Thankfully, the opposite is true as well. When we daily do what it takes to turn from self to follow God, He always shows up.

When we take time to read, pray, and obey we build a life, not of our own misery, but of the love, joy and peace that God intends for us. This simple choice is ours, but it is not easy. We must decide what it is that we will pursue every day, as that is exactly what we will find every tomorrow. That is the story of life.