I remember countless times over the years, asking one of my kids to find something in the fridge. It was hard to believe how often they would yell to me, “Mom, I can’t find it.” Honestly, it was right in front of them! I asked them if they were looking with their eyes closed!
I was thinking about this verse today, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jer. 29:13. I wonder how often I seek God like my kids would look for ketchup in the fridge?
At this point in the book of Jeremiah, God’s people had been in captivity for 70 years. They were discouraged and bankrupt of hope, yet the call to wholehearted seeking of God remained. We have all found ourselves in that dark space, yet if we seek God, He promises we will find Him and that makes all the difference!
It is easy to be very distracted or in a big rush as we come seeking His presence. Sometimes we give up too quickly. I remember that if the kids expected the needed item to be in a certain place in the fridge and it wasn’t there, they would give up.
How often do we do these very things while seeking God? If He doesn’t speak quickly, or in the way that we thought He would or should, do we give up too? I know that has often been my story. I also have allowed anxiety to overtake me as I repeat my request over and over and fail to truly leave it with Him. My anxious ears were so overcome with the bigness or seriousness of the problem that I would lose sight of how Big and Mighty God is.
Then there is the “to do list” that is waiting. Seeking the Lord with all of our heart takes time and the truth is, there are many things on our lists that are far easier to do than seeking the Lord.
Wholehearted seeking takes place when we come to the end of our solutions and our preconceived ideas of what God needs to speak to us about. We put aside everything and seek Him only. For me, I know when I have found Him, as the peace that surpasses understanding comes and rests on me. And with that peace, I find my soul is at rest.
The good news is that God wants to be found by each of us. He asks that we seek Him wholeheartedly. I pray that we would each find Him as we seek Him this next year! We need His resting peace, that is for certain!
Dear Father,
As I look to the year ahead, I pray that You would find me seeking You wholeheartedly. Please, teach me daily how to do this! I have so much I would like to get done in a day, but Father, in the middle of all of this, I want to be found seeking You and finding You, not just in the morning, but all through my day! Lead me Father and teach me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen