 “No way, Mom. I found a shark's tooth!” My six year old’s sun kissed face was beaming as she held up to me with both palms her tiny treasure. The day before, a kind couple had passed our family on our way off the beach. They were older and looked at our young girls (and us as parents with our arms overflowing with beach necessities) with a “we remember when” gaze. They knelt down and asked our kids if they’d like a shark's tooth to take home. They had found so many today. “Yea!” Our girls squealed, accepting in awe the small, inky blank, pointy objects. The couple then showed our girls what to look for at the water's edge to find more. I had gone to this same beach for over 30 years and never, not even once, in all my seashell hunting had I found a shark's tooth. Here’s what Iearned from the sweet couple and my own kids. The shark’s teeth have always been there. I just hadn’t discovered any because I hadn't been looking for them. What we seek we find. That’s exactly what looking for shark’s teeth and our view of the nearness of God have in common. Can I give it to you point blank? If we’re not seeing God move, miracles happen, silver linings in life’s storms, blessings, and the good, we are not looking for it. My psychology minor zero percent makes me an expert in the mental field. However, I do know that “what we seek we find” is really what is known as “confirmation bias.” If we’re looking for hurt, pain, what’s broken, to be a victim, the negative, etc. we’ll definitely find it. The opposite is also true. If we’re mining for the goodness of God, our lives, and in others, we’ll always strike gold. Culture throws this around under concepts like “manifesting” or “the law of attraction.” But really, from the moment man was created, God intended for us to seek Him and His ways, that we might find Him. There are hundreds of verses about seeking God in the Bible and, in every instance, God wants to be discovered. To cover all of these would require a novel, which you nor I have time for. So, to cut to the chase, let’s zoom in on this straight-to-the-point verse. “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” -Proverbs 8:17 Here’s the main point of today’s blog: God is not playing a spiritual game of hide-and-seek with us. He’s hiding in plain sight, waiting for us to simply look towards Him and discover that He’s been there and will be there the whole time. If we’re not seeing God, it’s not because He’s hiding behind a magical door that the right prayer or spiritual to-do will unlock. It’s because we’re gazing at the wrong thing. We’re seeing hurt over His hand. Playing the victim instead of walking with Victor. Watching too much HGTV and nitpicking our house’s flaws instead of seeing the home God has provided for us. Scrolling on Instagram and focusing on what our family or feed lacks rather than praising God for how far we’ve come. Proverbs 8:17 reminds us that finding God isn’t an experience reserved for pastors or missionaries or the hyper-spiritual. This is an opportunity for us all to simply “seek (Him) find (Him).” Maybe, like me, you’ve been circling the same shore for years and years coming up empty handed. You’ve been looking and looking but never have been able to uncover God. Find someone to show you what to look for. Open the Bible, discover what Jesus’ character and His fingerprints really look like. Let a church community or believer hand you a few Bible verses or Truth. Then, set back out on your God hunt. Just like the shark's teeth, He’s been right there hiding in plain sight all along.
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