The Dynamic Call of Seeking God
The answer is as follows: seeking God is an internal and active process that cannot be replaced by passively waiting for His arrival. We must strive ourselves for communion with Him, because it is through our own striving and faith that the encounter with the One we seek occurs. For example, one source clearly states: "If you take two steps towards God, then the Lord will take two steps towards you. As soon as you retreat from God in even one matter, even if it's just one step, the Lord will immediately retreat from you as well. It always works this way: if you sin in something, even if it is a small matter, you immediately lose. Therefore, there can be no games or bargaining with God. God wants man to reach out to Him on his own, because God is love and He desires only love." (source: link txt)Another source adds an important nuance, emphasizing the need to learn how to properly approach communion with God: "Today He will reveal Himself to us through fear and trembling, and tomorrow—with mercy. But we must learn to approach God and wait for Him to reveal Himself to us in the way He chooses to be before us today. If we only seek either yesterday’s experience or that God about whom Simeon the New Theologian so wonderfully writes..." (source: link txt)These statements demonstrate that trust and the expectation of God’s revelation do not come as a result of inaction. Seeking God is an active turning towards Him, in which every effort of spiritual pursuit stimulates revelation and grace. Thus, relying solely on the expectation that He will find the person Himself does not meet the demand placed on a heart that longs for God.Supporting citation(s): "If you take two steps towards God, then the Lord will take two steps towards you..." (source: link txt) "Today He will reveal Himself to us through fear and trembling, and tomorrow—with mercy. But we must learn to approach God and wait for Him to reveal Himself to us..." (source: link txt)