I WILLS TO INSTILL: I Will Seek Him // Taking Devotions from Drudgery to Delight // The Motto of the Family Disciple Me Ministry

Drudgery, discipline, delight—what do these words signify in your spiritual journey? Join Tosha Williams in the Family Disciple Me podcast as we explore  Isaiah chapter 12:3 and unpack how the act of seeking God, akin to drawing water from a deep well, requires commitment but promises profound spiritual renewal. Listen in as Tosha shares personal insights from life on her family farm, illustrating how intentionality in our relationship with the Lord can lead to spiritually fulfilling lives.

In this episode, we delve into the heart of our "Seek Him Speak Him" motto. We reflect on the journey from obligation to joy, exploring how daily encounters with God's Word can refresh and nourish our spirits. Whether you're a seasoned believer or new to faith, tune in for encouragement, challenge, and blessing as you deepen your walk with the Lord, drawing from the springs of salvation with joy.

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I WILL’S TO INSTILL // Convo #3:  I Will Seek Him

“You will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation.’” Isaiah 12:3 CSB

SEEK HIM: Devotion is Meeting with God in Our Own Lives! With the Family Disciple Me ministry, our motto is “Seek Him Speak Him.” Let’s spend some time with the Lord in Isaiah 12:3 about what it means to “Seek Him.” 

WHAT:  What is God saying through this Scripture? To draw water is to bring it up from the depths bucket by bucket. In the same way, Scripture by Scripture, truth by truth, principle by principle, day by day, God wants us to go to His wellsprings of life and seek Him. ~ Have you received God’s salvation; when, why, how? Look up “how to get water from a well with a bucket” and think about the intentionality it takes to get water this way. How does this help you better understand what it means to “Seek Him.”

WHY:  Why does this Scripture matter? To draw water requires effort, intentionality, work and determination. In ancient times, this was essential to physical life, something to be done every single day. ~ How often do you make the effort to spend time with the Lord each day? If joy is the measure of how much you “Seek Him,” how joyful are you? 

HOW: How does God want us to respond to this truth? The springs of salvation are available to all of us; the question is what we choose to do with this resource. We draw water when we daily decide to seek the Lord in our lives. ~ What is God saying to you personally about seeking Him? In what ways are you determined to “Seek Him”? Read Psalm 36:5-9 and listen to what God says to you through it. 

SPEAK HIM: Discipleship is Making God Known to Others! As we are filled with the life-giving, soul-nourishing water from God’s springs of salvation, will you stay quiet or let your bucket-full overflow into someone else’s life? 

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media.

Family Disciple Me is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, and all donations are tax deductible. More information, blogs, statement of faith and contact info can be found at familydiscipleme.org

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Drudgery, discipline, delight.
My youth pastor promised, ormaybe predicted, this when I was
a teenager, as he talked to usabout having our devotions.
And well, I took him at hisword about the word.
I had been reading my Biblesince I was a child and I have

(00:22):
to admit, as I heard my youthpastor encourage us to spend
time with the Lord.
Well, devotions mostly feltlike drudgery, but because of
that godly leader'sencouragement, I kept
establishing the disciplines ofspending time in God's Word.
I continued in my walk with theLord, reading a chapter or two

(00:45):
or even three every day, and, tomy surprise, I began to find
that it no longer felt like adrudgery.
What I did not anticipate wasthat someday, time with the Lord
wouldn't just feel like adiscipline either, wouldn't just
feel like a discipline either.
What I didn't foresee coming,but that my youth pastor said

(01:07):
would be true time seeking theLord would become a delight.
This is what we're going toconsider in this next
conversation as we go throughIsaiah, chapter 12.
We've already talked aboutthanks and trust and I pray that
all of us are leaning into bothof these with new

(01:30):
intentionality and determination.
I will give thanks, I willtrust God, but now, in this
conversation and the next.
I gotta tell you these are myheartbeat, these are my passion
With the Family Disciple Meministry.
We talk a lot about the phraseseek Him, speak Him.

(01:52):
This is our motto, our theme,but what does it mean, how does
it apply to our lives, how do welive it out and how does this
lead to delight?
These are some great questions.
So right now, let's spend sometime with the Lord in our next
verse of Isaiah, chapter 12,verse 3, and specifically spend

(02:15):
time on this phrase I will seekHim.
I'm already delighted to talkto you about this one.
Stick with me for the intro andthen we'll be right back.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Welcome to the Family Disciple Me podcast.
If you have a real relationshipwith Jesus, then you're in the
right place to be encouraged,challenged and blessed as you
seek Him, speak Him.
The mission of the FamilyDisciple Me ministry is to
inspire devotion-drivendiscipleship, which is something
we believe every Christfollower can do.

(02:51):
Discipleship starts with aconversation, so let's get going
with that right now.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
I live on a farm and one of the first things I had to
get used to when we first movedhere is the fact that we have a
well.
Apparently, our well is about500 feet deep.
It's been quite the learningexperience to understand all the
nuances and the intricacies andthe ins and outs of keeping a

(03:21):
well, working and producingwater.
But the good news is I don'thave to go to the well every day
with buckets and drop them downthose 400, 500 feet by hand,
scoop up the water and thenbring it up into the house to
cook or clean or drink or flushtoilets with or do all the
things that we do with water.
We do have a well, but I'mprivileged to have a well pump

(03:46):
and though I've been told wehave one of the most difficult
wells in the whole county, we dohave access to all the
life-sustaining water that weneed on our farm for our family,
our guests, our animals.
Wells haven't always been thisway, though.

(04:11):
Throughout the history of time,and still in some parts of the
world, gathering water has beena huge endeavor.
Getting water has required workand effort, intentionality and
determination.
A decision of I will go get thewater we need for today.
In ancient times, this wasessential to physical life.
It was something that had to bedone every single day.

(04:36):
These days, few of us literallydraw household water with
buckets from anywhere.
However, this is the analogyGod uses in Isaiah, chapter 12,
verse 3, to help us understandwhat he wants us to do in our
walks with Him.
The scripture says you willjoyfully draw water from the

(05:02):
springs of salvation.
To draw water is to bring it upfrom the depths, bucket by
bucket, and this is where welearn something so important
about the truth of seek him.
To draw up water from a well ora spring is to bring it up

(05:24):
bucket by bucket.
In the same way, scripture byscripture, verse by verse, truth
by truth, principle byprinciple, day by day, god wants
us to go to his well springs oflife and seek him Salvation.
It's not just abeen-there-done-that attitude,

(05:48):
but a continual return to thesource of the life-giving water
of the Lord.
I love the scripture that saysyou let them drink from your
refreshing streams, for thewellspring of life is with you.
This sustenance, this abundance, this overflow, this everything

(06:10):
that we need in relationshipwith God.
Well, it comes from time withhim, it comes from being in his
presence.
However, we want to state theanalogy whether it's a well or a
spring, or a stream or a river,this water of salvation is
available to all of us who havea real relationship with Jesus.

(06:33):
And I should just add it'savailable to anybody, even if
they don't have a realrelationship with him, because
God offers it freely toeverybody.
The question is what we chooseto do with this resource.
I believe that we draw waterwhen we daily decide to seek the

(06:56):
Lord in our lives.
We seek him through reading hisword, through meditating on it,
thinking about it, memorizingit.
Let's try that one on.
We seek him through talking tohim in prayer, then being quiet
and listening for His voice.
We seek Him by going to church,worshiping with other believers

(07:18):
and letting ourselves bediscipled into a deeper walk
with Him.
There are so many ways to seekHim, him.
There are so many ways to seekhim starting with his word, then
obediently doing what it says.
This is not a burden, it's nota drudgery, and though it is a

(07:44):
discipline, I can promise you itleads to delight.
In fact, that's what our versesays.
You will joyfully draw waterfrom the springs of salvation.
Are you experiencing this joyIf time spent with the Lord
results in joy, then how joyfulare you?
Oh, it's my heart's desire andpassion that you will seek him

(08:07):
and you will experience thedelight that he offers you in
his presence, in his word, inconversation, of prayer with him
, in knowing him more deeply.
This is the first half of whythe Family Disciple Me ministry
exists to make it simple, easy,exist.

(08:33):
To make it simple, easy, doableto walk into these devotions so
that you can know Christ better, so that you can seek him and
learn to hear his voice and toknow his heartbeat and to feel
his touch in your own life.
This is why we organize theconversations the way we do
because we want to put into yourheart and into your mind a
mindset for how you can seek himby being in his word and then

(08:57):
by talking to him, asking himquestions like what, why and how
.
God, what are you saying to methrough your word, god?
Why does it matter?
God, how do you want me torespond to your truth?
The first goal of the FamilyDisciple Me ministry in Seek Him
is to help you realize that youdon't have to be a spiritual

(09:19):
superhero in order to hear fromGod and have a deep, joyful,
meaningful, intentionalrelationship with Him.
He has that for you right now.
It's at the springs.
And then, of course, the secondreason that the Family Disciple
Me ministry exists is so thatyou can be encouraged, equipped

(09:42):
and empowered to not just seekHim but to speak Him and live
out devotion-driven discipleship.
We'll talk about this more inthe next conversation, but for
now, let's talk about seekingthe Lord, about being filled
with His life-giving,soul-nourishing water from His

(10:02):
springs of salvation.
Let's talk about having thisjoy in His presence that doesn't
just fill us up but begins tospill over into the lives of
those entrusted to us, to thelives of those entrusted to us.
To go back to our theme for thisentire collection of
conversations, though, thisdoesn't just happen.

(10:25):
This doesn't happen with amindset of I could, I might, I
ought, I should.
It's not going to happen.
If that is the mindset withwhich we approach spending time
with the Lord, we experience allthis goodness, all this joy in

(10:45):
His presence when we decide withintentionality and
determination I will seek Him.
That affects how we live everyday.
It affects what we do when wefirst wake up.
It affects how much socialmedia we watch.
It affects how much TV time wehave in our lives.

(11:08):
It affects what we do with ourfree time.
It affects what we do duringour lunch hour.
It affects what we listen towhen we're driving to work or
driving the kids to school ordoing carpool.
Whatever it is thisdetermination I will seek him.
It changes everything.

(11:30):
It may feel like drudgery atfirst.
I admit that I felt that it maystart feeling more like a
discipline, like I have to go tothe gym, which is okay, we
enjoy it, but it's still kind ofhard sometimes.

(11:51):
But I promise you, if you keepleaning into the Lord, if you
keep spending time with him, ifyou stay in his word, if you
keep looking for what he has foryou, how he wants to have you
walk with him today.
I promise you you will finddelight as you seek him.

(12:15):
Oh, friend, may you seek theLord and his strength, may you
seek his presence continually.
That's Psalm 105, verse 4.
And here's the promise thatgoes with that.
God says you will seek me andfind me when you seek me with

(12:40):
all your heart.
So, friend, determine in thisnew year that you will seek God
like never before.
Write it down, make it plain inyour journal.
Put it on the mirror in yourbathroom, proclaim it to your
family, speak it to your friends, make it known.

(13:02):
I will seek the Lord this year.
And here's the thing when youfind him, when you begin to
experience him like you've neverexperienced him before, then
shout it from the rooftops and,what's more, send me an email or
Facebook message.
I want to hear from you aboutwhat God shows you in His

(13:23):
presence.
So may the Lord bless you andkeep you.
May the Lord make His faceshine upon you and be gracious
to you.
May he turn His countenancetoward you as you turn your
countenance toward him and asyou do this, may he give you

(13:45):
peace and joy and happiness andhope and strength and a song.
All all that make yoursalvation so much richer and
fuller than you've ever, everbefore, experienced.
Go with God, friend, seek HimUntil next time when we talk

(14:07):
about speak Him.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
Thanks for joining us in this podcast episode.
You can find the matchingconversation guide in the show
notes.
To get the latest updates aboutthe Family Disciple Me ministry
, as well as word about oursoon-to-be-released app, sign up
to be the first to know atfamilydisciplemeorg.
Also, if you enjoyed thispodcast, help us get the word

(14:32):
out by leaving us a review onyour favorite podcast platform.
God bless you, friend.
Now go seek him.
Speak him.