The Signs of the Times, vol. 23

September 23, 1897

“Asking and Receiving” The Signs of the Times, 23, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth.” Matthew 8:7, 8. If we seek, with this assurance, it is worth while to know what to seek, what it is that is worth the finding. The same One who gives the assurance that we shall find, tells us what to seek: “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found.” Isaiah 55:6. “Seek the Lord, and his strength; seek his face evermore.” Psalm 105:4. SITI September 23, 1897, page 579.1

Here is something that is certainly worth finding. If we find the Lord, we find his strength. He is the Almighty, therefore whoever finds him becomes “strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.” Colossians 1:11. In his presence is fullness of joy. Not only so, but “in him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17, R.V.), and therefore he who finds the Lord has with him all things (Romans 8:23). SITI September 23, 1897, page 579.2

But is the Lord, with all this treasure, hard to find? Nay, quite the contrary; “he that seeketh, findeth,” because he is not far from every one of us. Acts 17:27. More than this, he is seeking us: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. Since he is seeking us, what can possibly hinder us from finding him, if we also seek him? Each seeking the other, we are sure to come together. SITI September 23, 1897, page 579.3

The statement that the Lord came to seek the lost, points to the fact that man was once with him, but wandered away. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Isaiah 53:6. When people sin, they imagine that God is angry with them, and that he has turned away from them. Not so; it is they who turn away and hide from him, while he seeks them. Adam and Eve, after their sin, “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8. But the Lord did not hide from them; on the contrary, he sought them, and when they responded to his call, they found each other. SITI September 23, 1897, page 580.1

Therefore, since it is we who “hid as it were our faces from him” (Isaiah 53:3), and he is all the time seeking us, it is evident that all we have to do to seek and find him is to turn round and look up. How easy the way, and how blessed the result! Let each one, then make these words his own: “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek,” assured that the finding will be sure, speedy, and glorious. E. J. W. SITI September 23, 1897, page 580.2