Zacchaeus Seeks Jesus
Why do you listen to these daily devotions? I hope it’s because you’re seeking Jesus. You want to encounter Him and hear His truth as you listen.
The Empty Success
When Jesus met Zacchaeus as he entered Jericho, Zacchaeus was seeking Him. Perhaps at this point in his life Zacchaeus was just not satisfied. He had lots of money, success, and did quite well for himself. But many people ignore Jesus because they feel they don't need Him. "I have my health, wealth, and family – what do I need God for?"
But soon enough we all discover that as precious as these things are, they don't fill up that hole deep inside us. Without Jesus in our lives, we are lacking something deeper, something more real.
Desperate for Jesus
Zacchaeus wanted Jesus so badly that he ran – and let me tell you, the sight of a man running in Israel was a crazy sight! Men didn't run. Men were served. But Zacchaeus ran, and more than that, he climbed a tree! Luke 19:2-4 syas "Zacchaeus… wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way."
I wonder how many of us come to church, or read our Bibles, or listen to messages like these, and we actually aren't even really seeking Him? We do it out of habit. And so we miss Him. Maybe Jesus has something to say to you if you seek Him like Zacchaeus did.
Let me ask you: when last did you go out of your way to connect with God? When last were you so desperate for Him that you did something embarrassing, like a middle eastern man running? Or you did something uncomfortable like climbing up a tree?
We are so accustomed to comfort these days! So accustomed to just doing the bare minimum in our faith so that we can stay comfortable.
I want to have the type of desperation for Jesus that causes me to climb trees and run and get up early and stay up late and drive far and do whatever it takes to get close to Him!
In fact I love the words of God in Jeremiah 29:13, where He says: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
May today be a day where you seek Him with all of your heart, doing whatever it takes to get close to the Saviour who can change you – like Zacchaeus did.
