“On my bed night after night I sought him
Whom my soul loves;
I sought him but did not find him,” (3:1).

We’ve all been there; in those places of darkness, when the night closes in on our hope; and as we probe in anguish, we hear the despondency fall from our lips, “Where are You, Lord?” We seek and we search for just a glimpse of Him, but it all seems to no avail.

And then we hear that all too familiar exasperation that escapes from our thoughts and somehow makes itself heard, “Why?” And as we hear our own despair voiced, it seems to take on a life of its own; and the wrestling match begins.

But love does not give up; love does not give in. Love anticipates His coming; yes, in the dark of night, love believes He will come, and when He does, love will not let go.

“Scarcely had I left them
When I found him whom my soul loves;
I held on to him and would not let him go
Until I had brought him to my mother’s house,
And into the room of her who conceived me,” (3:4).

God desires us not to merely be acquainted with Him, but He invites us to experience a love relationship with Him. And He reveals much about love from this Song of Songs that expresses His Gift of Gifts. He Must Be Sought because simply put, that is what love does.

We were created to seek Him.

and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us, (Acts 17:26-27).

We were created to seek Him continually, not just in our time of need. Dark times do often point us to Him, but we were created to seek Him every day, and to purposely live with a view to righteousness as we trust our future into His loving hands.

Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you, (Hosea 10:12).

For He Must Be Sought; and He desires to be found.

Consider Him Who Must Be Sought

• He Must Be Sought when we are in the distress of rebellion; and we will find Him, our Compassionate God.
  • “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. ³⁰ When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. ³¹ For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them,” (Deuteronomy 4:29-31).

• He Must Be Sought continually; and we will find His Glory and Strength.
  • Glory in His holy name;
    Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
    ¹¹ Seek the Lord and His strength;
    Seek His face continually, (1 Chronicles 16:10-11).

• He Must Be Sought when we are oppressed from the enemy; and we will find Him, our Refuge.
  • The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
    A stronghold in times of trouble;
    ¹⁰ And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
    For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You, (Psalm 9:10).

• He Must Be Sought in our affliction; and we will find Him, our Satisfaction and Praise.
  • From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
    I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
    ²⁶ The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
    Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
    Let your heart live forever! (Psalm 22:25-26).

• He Must Be Sought in joy and gladness; and we will find Him Magnified.
  • Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
    Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
    “The Lord be magnified!” (Psalm 40:16).

• He Must Be Sought with all our heart; and we will find Him.
  • “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord… (Jeremiah 29:13-14).

• He Must Be Sought in obedience; and we will find Him, our Life.
  • “For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, Seek Me that you may live,” (Amos 5:4).

• He Must Be Sought in patient trust; and we will find His Goodness.
  • The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
    To the person who seeks Him, (Lamentations 3:25).

• He Must Be Sought for every need; and we will find His Provision.
  • “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” (Matthew 6:33).

• He Must Be Sought by faith; and by faith we will find His Reward, and He will find us pleasing.
  • And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, (Hebrews 11:6).

How do we respond to Him Who Must Be Sought?

While we were created to seek Him, continually, the sad truth is that often we don’t look up until we’re face down in misery and misfortune.

“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, ¹⁴ and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land,” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).

But even when we, ourselves, are the cause of our suffering, He promises He will turn to hear, forgive and heal when we humbly come in prayer to Him Who Must Be Sought.

Another sad truth: often we find ourselves in a miserable place because we have let the stuff of this world crowd out the faithfulness of our God.

Oh, let us seek Him by choosing to recall our hope in the ceaseless love and compassion we have so abundantly received from Him Who Must Be Sought.

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
²² The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”
²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him, (Lamentations 3:21-25).

We were created to seek Him in love, and like a marriage, that means in the good times and bad, in sickness and in health, and in rich times and poverty; until death brings us to our eternal home, and we will finally see Him Who Must Be Sought.

Because love does not give up; love does not give in. Love anticipates His coming; and even in the dark of night, love believes He will come; and when He does, we can be certain we will not let go. Until that time, let us seek Him Who Must Be Sought with all that we are, for there is nothing of greater value that can compare to finding Him.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it,” (Matthew 13:45-46).

In closing, let us take some time to pray His Word back to Him as we ask Him to grow us in our love for Him and our desire to behold His beauty, to taste and see His goodness, and to yearn and thirst for Him as we earnestly seek Him Who Must Be Sought.

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock, (Psalm 27:4-5).

O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
⁹ O fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
¹⁰ The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing, (Psalm 34:8-10).

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water, (Psalm 63:1).

Let’s Grow Together!