TABERNACLECARDIFF - Heath Citizens Hall, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4EP

Letters to the Soul - Dear Troubled Seeker
Written by Vernon Higham

There are many times when you have felt frustrated in looking for something that you have mislaid. Try as you may to distract your mind with something else, back it comes. Then you have another search and continue to be increasingly frustrated until at last you find what you are looking for.

Have you considered the meaning of life, and the purpose of it all? I am sure that this is true of us all, especially in the loss of a loved one, the estrangement of a friend, or some unexpected circumstance. For a while we are troubled and believe that we should do something about this. Nevertheless, life goes on and we are distracted for a while with something or another. At the same time, however, there remains that little nagging feeling in the back of our minds. Sometimes, when we are awake at night, all these memories crowd into our anxious minds. Eventually we fall asleep and morning comes and the events of a new day eclipse the concerns of the waking hours of the night.

There are times when we consider the Being of God, what we are, what is the purpose of it all, and what happens after death. These thoughts do not leave us, but constantly recur. Indeed the thoughts become increasingly persistent if God is working in your heart, and your trouble intensifies. At first you do not want to share the concern with anyone else, as it would be too embarrassing to talk about such things in such pagan days.

As time goes on you become more serious, perhaps intermittently at first, yet a quest for God has begun. You are being drawn or persuaded to seek the secret of life and the meaning of the hereafter. This is God at work. Meanwhile, in the quest for the satisfaction of heart and soul you will probably try many avenues of comfort. Nothing seems to satisfy, but by now you are very aware that you have a soul and this soul cannot age, because it is immortal. It just cannot die. An issue then arises: What will be its destination?

What are these avenues of distraction? There can be an astonishing variety. The only way that I can describe this is if as we are looking for a lost chord and without it every tune is ruined. Many years ago, I remember sharing with my brother my spiritual need at that time and that I felt like a piano with the middle C missing, and spoiling everything. Many friends reassured me and pointed out my virtues, that I was a good religious person and led a moral life etc. They meant well, but it did not satisfy the longing heart looking desperately for reality.

It is at such times that God begins to show that He is there, and that His guiding hand is touching our lives. Things begin to happen when you meet people who tell you of their search for God and how they were found of Him in the Lord Jesus Christ and found peace with God. At first, we show some interest, but at the same time feel somewhat offended. Indeed it is not unusual for us to defend ourselves, despite the knowledge that we feel increasingly our need. It is not easy to accept the words of the Bible that say ‘for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ Rom 3:23. These words strike home until eventually we recognise their truth, for we are now coming face to face with the fact of the Holiness of God

As the message continues, it tells us that God has planned a way to help sinners. Slowly the reality dawns on you that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He came to this world for a great purpose. You will have heard of His Cross, for it is there that the innocent Son of God is punished for our sin and that we might be covered in His forgiveness and His clean life.

Then what shall we do? We must seek for Him with all our hearts. In some remarkable way He gives us the ability to repent and to turn away from our sin, and He gives us the gift of faith in order that we might believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s it. Peace with God, a place in Heaven and the search is over and at last we have found what we were looking for. Dear troubled seeker, do not be satisfied until you have found satisfaction with your soul and peace in your heart. ‘Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near’ Isaiah 55:6.