WE
normally look for something before we can
find it. But there are instances when without looking, we find something. In
these cases, we usually call the person involved as a lucky finder, or someone
enjoying a windfall or some manna from heaven.
This can happen in the world
of religion. A good example would be the dramatic conversion of St. Paul who,
even in the midst of his most hostile campaign against early Christians, heard
the voice of Christ that led to his instant turn-around.
Many of the patriarchs,
prophets and other prominent characters in the Bible were of a similar
situation. Without looking for God or unhappy with God’s call, they were called just the same, and even pursued
as some of them tried to run away. The prophet Jonah is a perfect example.
St. Paul quoted the prophet
Isaiah to describe this phenomenon: “I have been
found by those who did not seek me. I have shown myself to those who did not
ask for me.” (Rom 10,20) Truth is,
whether we are looking for him or not, God is always around and is actively
intervening in our lives.
But for all that, we usually
have to look for God to find him. Christ himself said so: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 6,33)
The same idea is reiterated
when Christ said: “Ask, and it will be given to
you, seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it
will be opened.” (Mt 7,7-8)
This insistence to look for
God is especially understandable in the context of those instances when God
allows a person to experience what is called “the dark
night of the soul.” It’s to test him, to strengthen him, to purify him. And so
the person concerned simply has to insist in looking for God despite the
difficulties.
We are given the assurance of
finding God if we look for him earnestly. From the prophet Jeremiah, we have
these words: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your
heart.” (Jer 29,13)
Yes, we have to seek God with
our utmost effort, echoing this sentiment of David when he got lost in the
wilderness: “O God, you are my God. I
earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you, as in a
dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Ps 63,1)
We have to reassure ourselves
that such effort will always be rewarded a hundredfold by God himself who
cannot be outdone in generosity. Remember Christ’s words: “Everyone who has
left houses or brothers or sisters or father or wife or children or field for
my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”
(Mt 19,29)
We have to learn how to seek
and find God in all things, big and small, and in all occasions and situations,
good and bad. If we have to use the divine logic, we should first learn to seek
and find God in the little things of each day before we can find him in the big
things, and in the very ordinary, routine things before we can see him
especially in the most trying moments of our life.
Let us always remember that
everything can and should be related to God, especially those instances when we
are most vulnerable, weak and miserable. It goes without saying that the good
times we have should be moments of thanking God, especially when we experience
big successes and victories which, if not related to God, can intoxicate and
spoil us.
As St. Josemaria Escriva once
said: “There is something holy, something divine hidden in the
most ordinary situations, and it is up to each of you to discover it.” God is everywhere. To capture this reality, we need to learn how to be a
contemplative even right in the middle of the world.
We should learn to detect the
presence of God in everything and to take part in his abiding providence over
us. He always invites us to cooperate with him in governing his creation.
He even invites us to “subdue
the earth and have dominion over it.” (Gen 1,26-28) He invites us to complete
his work of creation with him. As knowing and free collaborators, we are “God’s
fellow workers.” (1 Cor 3,9)
So, there’s always basis to find and work with God if we look for
him actively.
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