What Are You Looking For?
Today’s devotional
The first answer to a longing is not always its deepest answer. We may seek information because we want reassurance, recognition because we want belonging, or control because we are afraid of loss. The visible request matters, but attention to what lies beneath it can change the way we respond.
When two disciples begin following Jesus in John's Gospel, he turns and asks what they are seeking. Their reply leads to an invitation to come and see where he is staying. The encounter becomes time shared in his presence, and Andrew later brings Simon to him. A question opens into relationship. The disciples are received as people who can discover more while they walk with Jesus.
We can bring our searches into that same attentive space. What do we hope a new achievement, another explanation, or a changed circumstance will provide? Some desires point toward real goods that deserve practical action. Others may ask a finite gift to carry more than it can bear. Prayer can help us examine the difference without contempt for our needs. Christ's question invites honesty rather than an answer polished to sound spiritual.
Choose one pursuit that has occupied you recently and let Jesus' question address it. Take time to describe what you hope to receive. Perhaps the next faithful response is to continue with clearer purpose. Perhaps it is to ask for companionship, release an impossible demand, or seek forgiveness. The deeper search does not require abandoning ordinary responsibilities. It can help us inhabit them with greater truth. In Christ's presence, our questions become part of a relationship through which desire can be patiently understood and directed toward love.
Adapted from Chapter 11: The Deeper Questions in Light in the Darkness by Dr. R. C. Titus.
Read the Scripture
Open each passage and read slowly. Notice what these words reveal about God and the life before you.
John 1:35-42 · WEBU
35Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,
36and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
37The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
40One of the two who heard John and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ).
42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).
Pause and respond
For reflection
If I brought my current pursuit before Jesus, how would I answer his question about what I am seeking?
A practice for today
Set aside a short, quiet moment to name what you are looking for beneath one current pursuit. Pray in plain words, then identify whether the next response needs action, conversation, surrender, or further attention.
A prayer
Jesus, receive the desire beneath my questions. Help me speak honestly about what I am seeking and listen for the invitation within your presence. Give me wisdom to honor real needs and release impossible demands. Let my search become a way of drawing nearer to you and loving more truthfully. Amen.
Your place is remembered in this browser. No account needed.