It is written in Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. That verse is very clear in its meaning, and you don’t need to be a Bible scholar to understand it. You cannot come to God unless you believe He exists. And He is pleased that you believe in Him enough to diligently seek Him. And for that He will reward you. Rewards come in many shapes and sizes. We all like rewards, right?


I will come right to the point here. What kind of reward are YOU seeking today? Everlasting life? The gifts of the Holy Spirit? A close and enduring relationship with Christ Jesus? All of the above? Or maybe it’s something earthly, such as a good marriage, or a family, or a home, or a job, or financial blessing, whatever it is you’re seeking, you’ll never get it without DILIGENTLY seeking it.
Those who are lazy seldom reap the rewards of hard work. And being God is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him, then He isn’t looking to reward those too lazy to pursue Him.

I’ve often said we should seek God’s face, and not His hand. Those seeking His hand are only interested in getting what they can from God. And there’s not anything wrong with wanting what God wants you to have, but seeking His face is so much better, for His hand is connected to Him as well.

As a young child, my parents would drop me off at my Grandpa’s house on Saturday morning so they could go grocery shopping. Now it was a long way to Grandpa’s house, so apparently I was such a distraction to their shopping that it was worth it to them to make the trip to Grandpa’s. As his habit was, each week he would give me a small gift when I came to see him. Those were the “old days” with screen doors. And as MY habit was, I’d throw open the door, run inside, and say to Grandpa, “What do you have for me this week? About that time, the screen door would slam shut BAM!! It was pretty clear I was seeking Grandpa’s hand, not his face.

But one day I overheard Grandpa saying to Grandma, “I wish Jerry loved us for who we are, and not what we give him.”  Down in my heart something happened that day. The next week, I ran in, caught the screen door before it slammed and closed it gently, ran to Grandma and Grandpa and told them I loved them and gave them a hug and kiss. I saw something I never saw before. I saw a tear come down Grandpa’s cheek and he smiled. And each week thereafter the present they got for me was nicer. What changed? I started seeking their face, and not their hand.

COULD IT WORK THAT WAY WITH GOD?

I assure you, yes. Now I’m not telling you to seek His face so you can get more from Him. Please don’t think that. I’m just telling you that the way to God’s heart is by seeking HIM diligently, and stop seeking the rewards. By God’s very loving and giving nature, the rewards are simply a by-product of your diligently seeking Him. That’s why the scripture says that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

How sad it is that people miss out on the greatest joys of life by simply “USING” God to get what they want, when they could spend their life loving on Him instead. It is impossible to “out-love” God. For every moment you spend loving on Him, obeying Him, serving Him, praising Him, worshipping Him, He is busy thinking up another blessing to bless your socks off.

I think I’ve got my point across. Love the LORD with all your mind, soul, and strength. Seek Him with everything you have and just watch how He responds. Let me put it like this: you’ll be SO glad you did!