Food for ThoughtJeremiah 29:13 Seek Me
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

Jeremiah 29:13 New International Version

13. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Most Christians and even non-Christians do what I call crises seeking.   In the moment of crises they cry out to the Lord.  At that point, they are desperate and so full of fear and pain that they can do nothing else, but pray to God.

It is unfortunate that this is a common practice.  These are moments when all else has failed and turning to God is the last and final resort.  It is when they haven’t any answers and reasoning, figuring it out and human rationalizing only keep them in an endless cycle of struggle and turmoil

God opened the door long ago with an invitation to seek Him.   He meant it as a continual effort on our part to look for Him.  As we look for Him,.....in His word...or sit silently and wait for His presence to envelope us,  he promises to respond and show us where He is.  When we find Him there are only good things that will happen.  We will be filled with His peace.  We will understand the next steps to take in our trials and we will have answers that work and continue working.

Seeking God should be our top priority and an acknowledgement of the ultimate blessing.  He alone knows and understands the deep things in our hearts; He knows the solutions to all of our problems and He will bring such peace that it is beyond all reasoning.    

In seeking God we must trust that He is there and that He is there for us.

Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)  

6. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

God wants us singly focused on Him, not occupied doing something else.  To experience the fullness of fellowship with Him, we must be fully present.  

Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

God is faithful to give of Himself to us completely and we need to be just as committed.  This means being uninterrupted and unhindered to seek Him.  The flesh and the spirit want our attention and are opposed to each other so our attention will be divided.

Galatians 5:17 (ISV)

17. For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.

In order to seek God with our whole heart, we must first be in God’s presence.  Seeking God is not about seeking Him for things, but seeking to know Him.  The knowledge we would gain about God is endless and eternal.  To pursue God with determination and relentless desire is to seek Him with all our heart.  It is to put ourselves and needs aside and focus on His greatness and His incredible existence.

When we become lost in God’s presence and practice leaving ourselves behind, we will be overcome with His peace and suddenly things will open up to us in ways we never imagined;  wisdom will be our constant companion and seeking Him will become a daily necessity.  We will know and understand our need to seek Him with our whole heart.     

Challenge:  practice the presence of God.  Each moment focused on Him is a moment not focusing on our problems and anxieties.  

God bless

Marni

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lamb-rightThe purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.