Young Adults' Group

The Challenge Of Seeking The LORD

by Pastor Mark
March 27, 2025

A difficult challenge

Seeking the Lord is not easy. It is not as straightforward as we would think. It is far more complex and challenging. The prophet Isaiah highlighted some difficulties Judah faced in seeking the Lord. They needed to understand that their many sins were hindering them from relating to the Lord. What are some of these thoughts for us to consider?

Challenges in seeking the LORD

1. A God who hides Himself

“Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Saviour!” (Isaiah 45:15)

1. These words reflect a God who would hide Himself
   • This is because of the sins of the people of Judah.
   • They had no knowledge of God, fell into idolatry and prayed to a god that could not save (Isaiah 45:20).
   • Their sins had caused their relationship with God to be estranged and badly affected.
   • When Israel and Judah fell, they had to go into captivity.
   • They could not find God as He was nowhere to be found…He had hidden Himself.
2. God would do a new thing

“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)

1. • This is the Lord’s perspective for Judah…to no longer remember the former things.
   • The Lord would redeem Judah from Babylon and bring them back to Israel.
   • God promised that there would come a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
   • There would come a new start…a new thing where the people would have a restored relationship with God.
   • When they seek the Lord, they will find Him.
   • May the Lord do a new thing in our lives, too, as we learn to seek Him.

2. The complexity of man

“Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;” (Isaiah 48:1)

1. The Jacob–Israel complex
   • When God called Israel “Jacob”, He was referring to their sinfulness…as Jacob was sinful.
   • Jacob’s identity affected and influenced Israel…that they were not the nation which they were meant to be.
   • The challenge was for Israel to remember that they had come forth from the wellspring of Judah.
   • Judah was the tribe of kings, the line of David…there was every potential to rise up.
   • But Israel continued to be Jacob and were obstinate in their ways (Isaiah 48:4).
   • We are also complex in nature as we are both saved and sinful.
2. God reintroducing Himself (Isaiah 48:17)

The Lord is the Holy One of Israel. He is the Lord their God. He would lead Israel in the way they should go. The challenge is for Israel to heed the commandments of the Lord (Isaiah 48:18). Only then will the Lord’s blessings of peace, righteousness and more come. They would seek the Lord and their efforts would not be in vain. Let us be challenged to seek the Lord anew, rediscover Him in our relationship and heed His Word, which has been given to us.

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