Are You Requiring Him?

Scripture: Psalm 40:16 (AMP) Let all those that seek and require You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified!

Observations:

If I’m seeking someone, I’m looking for them. I seek the Lord by reading His Word. Not just reading it and forgetting it, but reading it, meditating on it, memorizing it, knowing it, sharing it. I’m doing this because I'm remembering that God almighty, creator of heaven and earth, wants to speak to me.

If I require someone, I’m unable to do the task in front of me alone. I require them to help me. Jesus tells us in John 15 that He is the vine and we are the branch and that apart from Him we can do nothing. Without requiring Him, we can do nothing. If I require someone, I have to speak to them. I have to tell them, “I need you.” We require God when we ask God to help us, knowing that it is not in our strength that we accomplish anything. 

And if we’re seeking and requiring, then we can rejoice and be glad. 

Do I love my salvation? Do I remember that I’m justified by faith because of what Jesus did? First I must remember. Every day I must remember. What is the best way to be grateful? To do without. If I can imagine just for a moment what my life would be like without Jesus’s salvation, that is all it takes to bring a tear to my eye. That is all it takes for me to say, “Yes! You Lord be magnified!”

Application:

I need to make seeking and requiring a priority. When I do I will have much to rejoice and be glad about. Doing so will help me remember what really matters in life - loving God and loving others.

Prayer:

Oh Lord, help me to seek You. Help me to require You. And in seeking and requiring to remember that You paid the price for all my sin, and in remembering, to love Your salvation. To love You. To respond by loving others as I say continually, “The Lord be magnified!” 

Click here for more information on SOAP: One Approach to Hearing from God.