Still haven’t found what I’m looking for
This Friday, 29 September, the legendary Irish rock band U2, begin a Las Vegas residency until 16 December in a brand-new, state of the art venue called Sphere.
They have not toured since 2019, and for the first time their drummer, Larry Mullen Jr will not be playing, as the band’s website stated, ‘Larry will take time out to undergo and recuperate from surgery in 2023.’
The Sphere is an extraordinary and unique venue! It’s the largest spherical building in the world and can seat 18600 people. Inside, it contains the largest and highest-resolution wraparound LED screen and the best audio system ever built!
The outside is completely covered in programmable LED lighting, making the whole orb structure a giant screen.
In promoting the forthcoming residency, U2 shot a video for a new song on the streets of Las Vegas. During breaks in the recording the band launched into a spontaneous version of ‘I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’, reminiscent of the video they shot for that song in 1987 also in Las Vegas!
I love that song, and I was reminded of it when I read this in the Bible recently…
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
This is from a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. It would appear that when Paul wrote this, he hadn’t found what he was looking for! His strong desire was to go deeper into God and His purposes.
To be honest, reading this always seems a bit strange to me. That’s because Paul’s ‘faith journey’ is well documented in the book of Acts. He had a dramatic encounter with God, was converted to Christianity and was clearly directed to preach the ‘Good News’ of Jesus.
This he did to great effect, so much so that this letter, to the church in Philippi, was written whilst he was imprisoned for his faith! So, what is going on?
This shows me that Paul was in a living relationship with Jesus. Elsewhere, Paul said that he wanted to ‘know Christ’. That knowing was a deep-rooted connection, not law-based religion. A living relationship navigates life’s twists and turns, ups and downs together.
Also, as we go through life, God’s priorities can change. There may be a season when God asks us to focus on something specific, and then that changes and we move onto something else. We can only know this by being in the close relationship with Jesus ourselves.
Let me encourage you to keep close to Jesus, talking and listening to Him. I know from my own experience that if I keep close, in this way, that I will find what I am looking for…
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader