Seeking God for Who He is

Many times these days you will hear a lot about how God is the one who provides and is the one where you find prosperity, healing, financial success, etc. Yes, it is true that God does provide these things; however, many people these days only seek God when they need or want something but forget to seek God just because of who He is.
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.” – Proverbs 8:17-21. The love being talked about in Proverbs is a love that friends have. Therefore, you are to have a relationship with God not just as the Father, Shepherd, Teacher, etc. You are to also have that relationship with Him as a friend for He is the best friend to ever exist. What does it mean to be a friend though?
“Wealth makes many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend.” – Proverbs 19:4.
If you have material possessions and wealth, you will attract many people, but how many of them are truly legit? False friends are those who seek someone for what they have, not for who they are. They leave in your time of need rather than draw near, and they leave when you can’t give them anything that benefits them. Sadly, many people take this same attitude towards God. Many people will only seek God for what He can give those people rather than who He actually is. Then when they aren’t receiving anything, they leave and abandon their relationship with God unless He gives them something. That is not being a friend, that is being a fake person with selfish desires and selfish motives.
“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” – Proverbs 18:24.
A true friend is one who draws near in times of distress, and they are the ones who want to be friends because they like who you are. They are the ones who stick closer than a brother. This is what God wants. He doesn’t want someone who seeks only to benefit, He wants someone who seeks because they love Him. As it says in Proverbs 8:21, God wants to cause those who love Him to inherit His riches and His prosperity. It also says that He wants to fill our treasuries which means our storehouses of provision. He wants the silos of our lives to be overflowing. Don’t seek God for what He gives; seek God for who He is. For then, the blessings and riches will follow at a great level. It is like a husband and his wife. A husband wants a wife who will love him for himself rather than the wealth and material possessions he has. He wants to bless his wife with gifts and riches because he loves her. Yet, he wouldn’t want to gift anything to her if she only sought after him for what he had. In the same way, God wants to give you gifts and bless you beyond imagination, but He doesn’t want to give you that if that’s all you chase Him for. In fact, when you seek what God gives rather than who He is, you actually make what He gives an idol and God despises idolatry. God doesn’t want you to make an idol of what He wants to give you, He just wants you to love Him so that He may bless you out of His love for you. God is jealous for your heart, not for your desire to have His riches.
“Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.” – 1 Corinthians 10:24.
This verse applies to your relationship with God too. Don’t seek your own by desiring what He can do to benefit you, but rather seek God’s own well-being. If you truly seek His well-being, then you will seek God for who He is for that is what He desires above all. A relationship isn’t about what you can give each other, it is about communing with each other because you don’t only just love each other but also like each other. If God sought us out for what we could offer Him, then He would have never sought us. Rather, He paid out of His own pocket giving up all He had so that He could have us. Shall we not also have the same desire for God’s heart too? You can be assured one thing above all about God’s heart. One of the greatest gifts from God is not what He can give you, it is His own heart for you. If you seek His heart, you will receive one of the greatest blessings from Him because His heart is who He is. That is what He is after is your heart.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Luke 12:34.
The true treasure is not what you can be given, the true treasure is in the heart because the heart is the place where thought, care, love, acceptance, and all those things come from. It is where your choice comes from. God gave us free will not because He wanted robots scripted and coded to love Him, but rather He wanted us to have free will so that we would choose to love Him. A choice contains value and intention. God chose us and that should mean so much to you because He valued you and had the intention to have you. In the same way, God knows the true value of a choice and desires your choice within your heart. If you’re married, wouldn’t you want your spouse to love you for your heart rather than what you own? Or if you’re single, wouldn’t you want your best friend or future spouse to love you for your heart rather than what you have? The greatest blessing you can bless God with is not anything you will ever have; it is offering your heart to Him not out of compulsion or force, but willingly and wholeheartedly.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” Psalms 103:1-2.
What David is saying right here is bless the Lord, O my soul. The word “my soul” is talking about David’s soul which is where he decides things. The heart contains the soul and spirit. It is out of the heart that your true desires and passions come forth. It is out of your soul that the decision of your heart is brought forth. Therefore, you can only bless the Lord from your soul. Let your soul proclaim the desires of your heart for God which is blessing Him because you give Him your heart. Then in the next verse, it says to not forget all His benefits. This is saying that don’t forget His benefits by being full of thankfulness for what He has given you. It isn’t about the benefits or the gifts for the greater blessing is from the heart. Yet, don’t forget the gifts He does give you, but rejoice in thankfulness for them, and above all, thank Him and His heart because He is such a loving God that He would bless you beyond measure. So overall, never forget to seek God for who He is rather than what He gives. It isn’t about the gifts, it is about His heart for the heart is where the true treasure is. God’s heart is so valuable that no number or measure of gifts or blessings can compare to how much of a treasure it is. Therefore, why wouldn’t you want to seek Him for Him.