Seeking and finding

We all know that it’s a good idea to get as much good advice as we can. It just makes sense. Why pretend to know more than we actually do? We’ll just end up hurting ourselves.

But this whole quest for sound advice takes time and effort. Searching for wise counsel sometimes feels like a full-time job!

In the past few weeks I have personally benefited from talking to a friendly lawyer, a couple equally friendly accountants, helpful folks at Revenue Canada (yes, these people exist), two or three knowledgeable mechanics, somebody at my bank, and a few informed family members.

Are you about to experience a frantic, advice-getting frenzy? May I suggest an extra shot of strong coffee early in the morning. Or two. The caffeine-kick will come in handy.

This recent and strenuous exercise reminds me that good counsel does not usually drift in our direction – like a bright helium balloon floating down from the sky. No, we need to go out and search for it until we find it. And yes, this takes time and involves hard work.

You likely knew that already. But perhaps I needed to be reminded – again.

For many people “hard” is out and “easy” is in. If anyone had asked, I would have suggested making everything in this world a little easier. Wouldn’t you? How about a room-service world? A “nice” world? One where everything came together for everyone all the time. You know, Hakuna matata! But nobody asked for my opinion or yours.

Effort is required on our behalf, often much more effort than we may care to admit. Although many of us are still trying to find a way to get around this.

Come to think of it, this common combination also indicates how much energy is usually required to determine what is true. Information and advice needs to be evaluated. But so do worldviews. Oh, it’s easy to be agnostic. It doesn’t take much of an effort. At all. Anybody can sit back and voice such an opinion. People do.

A couple of questions for these folks to consider: How can you expect to find out what is really true if you never really try? And why should you be surprised if critical questions remain unanswered and you feel confused?

Refusing to search for good advice means that you probably won’t find any. Not much anyway. That’s how it works. In the same way, being apathetic or casual about what is true means that you’ll likely always have reason to be agnostic. Nothing will ever change.

It works the same way with God. If you really, really want to know God…you will. If it feels like God is hidden and distant, that’s because God often is. These observations are hardly original with me. Did you ever enjoy playing hide and seek when you were a kid? If that special someone really cared they would make an effort to get to know you, wouldn’t they?

Don’t forget about the mercy and grace and initiative and generosity of God. But also remember – always remember – that we each have a role to play.

This seeking-and-finding recipe will sound simplistic to some, but may I suggest that it is often impossible to avoid. I prayed, “Oh, God…please make it quick and easy to write this blog post.” But it didn’t happen. It never does.

Of course, seeking doesn’t always come with an immediate and 100% finding guarantee. Timely advice, clear conviction, and intimacy with God may sometimes feel beyond our grasp.

But when in doubt, it is always a good idea to keep searching: to keep asking and seeking and knocking and praying and trying to understand. So don’t give up. Don’t abandon your quest.

Whatever you do, don’t quit now.