Hunting

“Whatcha hunting for?” my kindly husband asked as I stuck my head further into the darkened recesses of a lower cabinet. “Oh, I’m hunting for the lid to this tupperware,” I replied, delving even further into rarely probed corners.

I don’t know about other places where they speak the English language but around these parts we “hunt for stuff.” In fact, here at my house we spend lots of time hunting and not just for tupperware lids. We also seek out keys, wallets, lonely socks, misplaced credit cards and all-important passwords. Sometimes our hunts are active and involve going up and down stairs, looking under beds and shuffling through jackets. But other times the hunts are all performed from the relative ease of a chair, thinking, thinking. “Where, or where did I last see that _______?”

Fortunately, our hunts are usually rewarded with eventual success and we rejoice with a loud, “Aha! There it is!” Finding the lost item often brings a sense of triumph and relief as we hold up and proudly display the treasure.

Studying God’s Word can be a hunt, too. Just as we are not likely to find a sought for item with a cursory look, so it is with a serious student of the Bible. Finding deeper truths and meanings takes concerted effort.

First, we must open our eyes to look for new truths. It is easy for the busyness of our days to pull a veil of dullness over our spirits. If we desire to receive new revelations, our initial commitment in the search is to open the eyes of the heart.

Secondly, we must prepare ourselves to take action on the truth that is revealed to us. Just as a hunter assiduously pursues his prey, he must also prepare to capture it once it is found. But how do we “capture” new truths? In the spiritual realm, it may mean not just hearing it, but putting it into practice. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Teachers know that when students hear the lecture, that is only the first step in actually assimilating the lesson. Learning goes a step further when the pupil is able to interact with the material in some way on their own—re-writing, re-phrasing, re-telling the concept. With scripture, we find the same process works: we hear the lesson but unless we write it down or meditate on it or find a way to carry it from words to deeds, then we don’t truly accept and believe it.

In Matthew 7:7,8 we read, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  As we seek out wisdom and discernment and greater knowledge of God’s Word, we have a promise that we will be rewarded. So let us ask God for more knowledge, seek out the truth, and go through the door when it opens—all in order to be able to take what we find and share it with others.

Now, where did I put those keys?? 1/15