Seek the Lord while He may be found. “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” (Psalm 14:2)

Now God can certainly see for himself what our lives look like. He can know our thoughts, our motives, and our feelings. 

But I wonder, if God were to test us by asking questions, what questions would he ask as the test to see whether we understand and to determine whether we are seeking him? 

I can imagine a few of the questions that I think he might ask… 

• Are you seeking me? 
• Are you doing my will? 
• Do you love mercy? 
• Are you growing in love, becoming more like your role model, Jesus? 
• Are you living the life I created you to live? 
• Are you becoming the person I created you to be? 
• Do you love your neighbor as yourself? 
• Do you forgive as you wish to be forgiven? 
• Do you act justly and walk humbly? 
• Do you worship only me, your God, or do other “idols” have more of your time than you give me? 

Lord, we sure hope you find the answer to be yes to most, or all these questions! But we know we need your help. We often fail you. We are not yet perfect. 

And perhaps that’s the point! Maybe life is a refining fire, the furnace in which God creates his masterpieces. When gold is refined, the extraction process removes and separates the impurities from the ore. The impure gold is melted under intense heat and impurities float to the top and are removed, leaving pure 24 karat gold. The process has many steps before the gold is ready and perfect. 

In our lifetime, we are worked into God’s masterpiece. We must go through the refining fires of life, be subjected to the removal of impurities, poured out, worked through many steps, and at last, ready and perfect in the Refiner’s eyes, we see our best! And God sees too! 

Our prayer from Psalm 139:23-24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.