The answer was romance, adventure, the call of the unknown, the unconquerable spirit of man to roam, to seek, to find, and never to yield.”
–Zane Grey (The Great Trek)
“But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.”
–Matthew 6:33(Amplified)
————————–
Proverbs 8:17, such a wonderful verse. Notice that it again comes from the first person. We can easily see Jesus speaking here.
“I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” (KJV)
Paul certainly understood those words when he wrote in Galatians, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (2:20, NIV) Here we see the grace of God. He loved me; He gave Himself for me; He died on the cross for my sins. The fool does not seek wisdom, that is one reason the road he travels leads to perdition. We read in Psalm 14 that the Lord looked down from heaven to see if there were any who sought Him. The same is seen in Psalm 53. He is the desire of our heart, and as Dan Dick states, “When something is the desire of our heart, it should possess us totally.” When I first started dating Annie I wanted to be with her, in fact, the first semester we dated there were only three days that I was not in her presence. There was no way she was going to get out of the loop I tossed over her, and you know what, she wanted to be with me as well.
Notice the last phrase of the KJV, “those that seek me early shall find me.” Woe is me, do I have to get up? That’s what so many think of the new day. But they fail to realize that it is a day that the Lord has given them; not only that, it is a day to come to be in His presence again. We break our fast at breakfast time, but we also break away from the sleep that has kept us away from Him as well. To get up early tells how much an individual, or a thing means to you. One of the greatest memories I have, one that is etched deep in my heart and mind is the fact that when she was not working, Annie would always get up and prepare breakfast for me. There was a desire to be with me; a desire to please me. Charles Bridges writes, “Take care that God is the first person we speak to; that we see His face first before any other; else will our lamp be untrimmed, our soul estranged from His presence, our heart unready for His service.”
Wait a minute! I hear you say it. The KJV translates it wrongly. Let’s look at a few translations of that verse.
“I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.” (NKJV)
“I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.” (NASB)
“I love everyone who loves me, and I will be found by all who honestly search.” (CEV)
This is not a contradiction or necessarily a poor translation. To get up early is to be diligent about what you are going to do. To get up early means that you are serious about what is going to take place that day. But I like the term “diligent”. It shows perseverance, audacity, industriousness, conscientiousness and working towards a goal or outcome. To get up early shows discipline on your part and the hunger that you have to be with the Lord. It could be translated “earnestly.” We are to earnestly seek Him and that is determination. Are we determined to know the Lord more?
One more thought. We see in this verse the idea of mutual love. Parents love their children–the children love their parents. There is mutual love between husband and wife. Christ loves us–we love Him. There is the mutual idea of love and to do that we must come to know the person toward whom our love is directed. It is not just a whim, not just a fancy moment, but a dedicated, diligent time seeking the good of one another. Know that! The Lord seeks good for us, and we serve a loving heavenly Father.
James tells us “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (1:5, NKJV) In other words, if you lack wisdom, ask for it. If you lack wisdom, get up early and earnestly seek His face.