Have you noticed that we almost always have to look harder for the good than we do for the bad? Things that cause us worry, anxiety or fear grab our attention and demand our focus. Way too easily.
When our focus is drawn to the bad things happening around us—whether in our lives or in the world—it’s easy to get overwhelmed by anxiety and fear. But what if we made the choice to diligently seek God instead? Would it make a difference?
Today we’ll look at the positive results of seeking God that are summed up in this declaration:
I will seek the Lord and be delivered.
Let’s turn our focus away from the bad in order to make a diligent search for the good. We will learn two promises in Psalm 34:4 for those of us who choose to seek the Lord.
Whatever we feed grows stronger and whatever we starve grows weaker. I know from my own life experiences that speaking words of life can starve fear to death. The spoken word has the power to shift the atmosphere. I’ve seen it! Declaring Scripture helps empower your tongue with truth. That’s why, in every Believe & Speak post, I share a few Bible verses and give you a declaration drawn from the verses. I also invite you to repeat the declaration with me. Out loud.
Today, we’ll read Psalm 34:4 (NIV).
I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
You can begin right now to feed hope and starve fear by declaring this phrase drawn from Psalm 34:4:
I will seek the Lord and be delivered.
When you do your part, God will do his. So why not claim His promise to deliver you from all your fears and declare your intention to seek Him.
I will seek the Lord and be delivered.
I see two promises in Psalm 34:4 that are stated oh so matter of factly that you might miss them.
The first part of the verse says, “I sought the LORD and he answered me.
The first promise is
- God will not hide from you.
He hears you and answers you. Making that point makes me think of several Bible verses that confirm this promise. The last part of Deuteronomy 4:29 says about seeking God:
You will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Your soul is your mind, your will, and your emotions.
Jeremiah 29:13 says,
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
I love to do word studies. That’s when I home in on a word in a Bible verse and look it up in the original language. I was drawn to the word “sought” where it says, “I sought the LORD,” and wanted to look it up because my husband and I talked a while back about what Jesus might have meant in Matthew 6:33, when He said, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Jesus was referring to our daily needs like food and clothing. “These things” will be given to us when we seek God first. Please keep in mind that the word “seek” in Matthew 6:33 couldn’t possibly be the same word found in Psalm 34:4 because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek.
But I found an interesting similarity in their meanings.
Whether in Hebrew or in Greek, the message is that we are to seek with diligence, to strive after what we seek. When bad things in life make us anxious or fearful, we need to intentionally shift our focus away from the bad to the goodness of God.
Repeating today’s declaration might help us do that.
I will seek the Lord and be delivered.
When you say those words, “I WILL seek the Lord,” I want you to acknowledge it means being diligent about it. You don’t just throw up a prayer, every now and then, but you intend to pick up the Bible, find a quiet place and spend time getting to know God’s character by reading and praying. God has promised that He won’t hide from you. He wants to reveal Himself to you.
Jeremiah 33:3 says, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. When you do your part, God will do his.
The second promise comes from the last part of Psalm 34:4 and is contained in the last part of today’s declaration:
I will seek the Lord and be delivered.
It’s that simple. I’m reminded of the New Testament verse that says seek and you will find. (Matthew 7:7) When you do your part, God will do his.
Here’s what he promised He’ll do:
- God will deliver you.
I not only did a word study on “sought” to dig deeper into what it means to seek the Lord, but I also looked up the word “delivered” in the original language. When Psalm 34 says “He delivered me from all my fears” that word “delivered” means
to be torn out or away,
to take away, snatch away
to rescue, recover
to be plucked out
I love the word picture of God plucking us out of situations that frighten us. Whatever that bad thing is, even though it’s big and scary to us, it is SO small to God that it’s like removing a sliver with a pair of tweezers. His rescue takes focused attention but no strength. Don’t let the big bad things command your focus. I’m not saying it’s easy. We almost always have to look harder for the good. The bad is all too obvious.
Seek God first. Seek him when it means turning away from the things that cause you fear and anxiety. God is paying close attention to you, my friend. You WILL find him when you make a wholehearted search.
No matter what worries are clamoring for your attention, remember the promises in Psalm 34:4
- God will not hide from you.
He hears you and answers you. You can take Him at his word. And he has promised that he
- will deliver you.
Seek God with all your heart and soul. When you do your part, God will do his.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, I don’t want to make light of frightening situations, but Lord one thing I know is that you have promised to keep in perfect peace those of us whose minds are steadfast who keep our eyes fixed on you, so Father God, I ask for you to keep that promise and give us peace as we look to you as we lift up our eyes to where our help comes from, it comes from you. It doesn’t come from governments. It doesn’t come from any earthly force. Lord God, it comes from you. Help us to seek you first in everything, to seek you diligently. And Lord when we’re afraid keep your promise to us to give us the peace that surpasses human understanding. It’s a peace in the midst of the worst circumstances because it’s not of this world. Jesus overcame the world and he has given us that power and authority through your Spirit to do the same. Help us to seek you diligently. Help us, Father, not to be consumed by the things clamoring for our attention and causing us anxiety. God give us peace even now; we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.
