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Amos 5:4-5: This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. 

 

Seek the Lord in all things. You would think that would be all that it took for Amos to say to us through the Holy Spirit. Why did the Spirit speak to Amos about Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba? 

Bethel literally means "house of God." So if we are seeking God Himself, then we can do that right where we are. We don't have to travel to holy ground, or stately structures.  We can seek Him right where we are this second. The Spirit tells us that Bethel will be reduced to nothing.  So if the house of God becomes nothing, and we have put our faith in it, and not Him, then we too will have nothing. Why Gilgal? Gilgal is where Saul grew impatient with becoming king. He had to wait for Samuel to offer the sacrifice to confirm him. Instead, Saul pretended to be a priest, and offered his own sacrifice. This was taking things into his own hands, and that is not God's way. The Father wants us to seek Him, and not our own ways. We can miss so many blessings of healing, financial, and spiritual by trying to take things into our own hands. Seek Him right where you are, don't travel down the road into what you can do on your own. Seek Jesus right here and now. When we try and take things into our own hands, we become exiled from our Father. We are lost and outside of His work in our lives. If we think we can do all we need to be holy, righteous, and prosperous on our own, then He will let us.  But we will be stranded until we seek Him. 

Beersheba is the place that was caught up in worthless idols. There people were seeking idols that had nothing to do with our Father in heaven. This is a warning to us all. Our Father in heaven is above all things, and He blesses us with so much.  When we seek Him above idols, we will never have a need for anything other than Him. 

Beersheba is also the place that Elijah fled from Jezebel. This is a place of fear, and idols. The Father is telling us through this scripture to trust in Him. When we seek Him, we will find ourselves away from religion and condemnation.  We will be free of our self striving, and we will be free of fear, and idols. Seek Him and live! When we seek Jesus, we live an amazing life that is unlike any life we could have imagined on our own. Seek Him right where you are this second, and see Him move in your life, and live!

 

Father, thank You for being such a loving God.  Thank You for always being there for us to run to when we are in need.  We will seek You today and every day forward instead of seeking everything but You.  We will follow You and Your promptings as You lead us into wisdom, health, prosperity, and success.  We choose to seek You and live.  We choose to live this life and live it abundantly in You.  In Jesus name, amen.