This article is written by Zamy of Beautiful Blisters as part of the Deeply Rooted series. To submit a guest blog, click here.

Has your walk with God become a vicarious thrill? You try to pray but the words seem too heavy for your lips to mutter. Let’s be honest, seeking God can get hard at times especially when we have to deal with grief and pain.

But what do we do when we are faced with the option of conforming to our past, doing life without God, and following God forward as he transforms us into his fullness despite the hard place.

We can ask the question “how do I seek God?” and sometimes it won’t feel enough except we dive deeper to knowing why we seek God in the first place.

When I can’t see what I seek

Most times we stop seeking God not because he is no longer worthy or glorious enough to captivate us but that we have become complacent. There is a potentially great evil embedded within ease and comfort which poses a great threat to our pursuit of God.

Man is prone to wander when something other than God becomes his wonder. He no longer seeks life from the fountain of life but resorts to not just drifting away from God but hewing out a broken cistern; a temporary distraction for his misery as described in Jeremiah 2:13.

Christ indeed died to secure our salvation eternally but this reality doesn’t whisk away the reality of the difficulty to be encountered on the path of righteousness. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (see Matthew 7:14 NKJV)

The path of righteousness is not without the pangs of righteousness and many times we find it difficult to pursue God when we come face to face with adversity. It’s as though the flame that once burned bright is now reduced to an ember our eyes can barely see.

Pause. Reflect. Check your heart. What are your priorities? Could it be that something other than God sits on the throne of your heart? Idols are tricky. Something as good as family, relationships, success can become an idol when God is no longer at the center.

Disconnect to connect.

In this era of buffet information, we’ll find ourselves in a flux of knowledge and if we’re not careful enough to sift out the lies from the truth, the external noise is bound to drown our faith. What you feed grows. If you consistently stuff yourself with life-giving content, your faith responds with growth.

More than ever the instruction to guard our hearts stands as a sure means to protect the treasure of our faith.

If you consistently stuff yourself with life-giving content, your faith responds with growth.

Zamy Jay

What are you listening to? Are you listening to love or the voice of fear? Are you feeding your faith or your flesh, the part of you always wanting to negate God?

It will be unwise to desire God and not desire his word. The best way to feed your faith is to listen to Love. Listen to God through his word. As you approach God via scriptures, prayerfully engage with your friend and teacher, the Holy Spirit. We have an assurance of God’s promise to draw close to us when we intentionally make efforts to draw near to him. (See James 4:8)

If you have to cut back on social media to hear God clearly, please do not hesitate. 

There’s Ample Grace for the Humble

Your walk is precious to him. He delights in your process and may I announce to you, your struggles are very much a part of the process. He saw this moment even before you hit a wall.  Don’t you think it would be somewhat silly to exclude God from your struggles, acting like he’s unaware of the difficulty you’re facing chasing him?

God always resists the proud but you know he does to the humble? He gives ample grace! (See James 4:6)

Who are these humble people on whom God bestows favour and grace?

Those who are honest with where they’re at in their journey of faith. Those who recognise, embrace and surrender their weakness to God as a canvass for him to display his strength.

Those who lean not on their wisdom but set their hope fully on the grace that is supplied by the Spirit of God indwelling them. These are the humble one’s. They are able to remember God in their valleys of pain and discomfort as much as they do on the mountains of influence and success.

There’s no other better way to show humility than to approach God in prayer. Engage him in your process. The hard place provides us with an invaluable opportunity to be deeply rooted in God. In God’s purposeful hand, nothing is wasted. Make room for him in your struggles, he is more than willing to supply grace to you.

The hard place provides us with an invaluable opportunity to be deeply rooted in God.

Zamy Jay

Seek, you will find!

Worship is one sure way to remind yourself of the magnificence of God. When we extol God in worship, hope rises and our faith is strengthened again. Feeling weak? It might be the best time to turn on some worship music and revel in the goodness of God.

Paul says in Philippians, the one who has begun this work in you is faithful to complete it. (Philippians 1:6) He chose you, he called you, he equipped for this life and when you’re falling, his mercy waits at every end to hold you up.

Reach out to him when it’s hard to trust. When the voice of fear gets louder than the voice of faith, may you remember the God who is able to help your unbelief.

And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV