Chasing the light instead of finding the flashlight

Tonight, while thinking and praying about some things I wonder if God wants me to say to a friend of mine, the reinforcement of a principle of faith came to me. The things I was praying about was singing. About encouraging this individual in the paths that God has for them. And that while they have sang well in the past...but I believe that God has gifted this individual to sing at a level they cannot understand presently. But that they will only achieve such a level of performance and sound by being filled with the Holy Spirit in the midst of worship and being annointed for such work. I'm not sure they have ever had such an experience. I could be wrong. But more to the point....I began to think of the times in my life when I felt such an outpouring in my voice. One I cannot claim as my own. It was such a wonderful thing. A feeling of elation, joy, and peace rolled into one that I cannot put into words.

This got me to thinking. How often do we as christians chase after these "mountain top experiences"? We run from worship service to prayer time, to conferences, to a new church. All the while seeking to experience this "high" of sorts. But is the mountain top God? NO!!! It comes from God, but it is not God. I relate this to how some cats will chase a point of light on a wall or floor. They see the light, and they will chase, and chase, and chase. Constantly trying to "catch" this thing they want, but cannot grasp. We know that the light comes from a source. Either a pointer or a flashlight.

In much the same way, don't we chase after these fleeting mountain top feelings of being close to God, yet all the while MISS the oppurtunity God extends to us of knowing Him personally? If the cat realized that the source of the light was within it's grasp, don't you think it would then be far more interested in the source instead of the light? Why would it want to continue to chase something it can't grasp, when it could play and interact with something tangible?

So in the same fashion, why do we chase so hard after, and revel so intensely in, the light? When the flashlight, the source of that light, is within our grasp? God desires that we seek him with "all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and with all our strength." Not seek the "feeling of me" with all we are. He says SEEK ME with everything we are.

I pray that we be a people that seek God first, understanding that the "mountain top experiences" are a part of the journey, and a part of our faithwalk, but not the sum of it. May we always seek the flashlight, and not just the light!