Searching

                                                                           

 

“You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

 

They’ve got to be here somewhere! It was the first cold day of the winter and I was looking for my driving gloves. I own a pair of  gloves that are warm on the inside and that tightly grip the steering wheel.  They weren’t in the box with the winter scarf or mittens.  I looked inside other boxes on the closet shelf, but the gloves weren’t there. I had a lot to do that day, and I didn’t want to spend any more time looking. My gloves were at least 10 years old. Perhaps it was time to look on Amazon.  Within minutes I placed an order for a pair of driving gloves that would be delivered the next day. Problem solved.

 

How long should you spend looking for something that you can’t find? It depends on several factors. Is the item valuable? Can it be replaced? Is searching for the item worth the time investment? In the case of my ten year old driving gloves, “no” was the answer to all three questions. The decision to stop searching and to order from Amazon was an easy one.

 

Have you ever searched for God?  As Christians, we are forgiven and we have access to the Father because of Christ’s death on the cross. When we first came to Christ we may have enjoyed a vibrant relationship with Him. Perhaps, as time passed, that relationship drifted into lukewarmness. Perhaps your heart’s desire now is to know Him in a deeper, more intimate way. The good news is that God also desires for us to know Him more deeply.

 

Jeremiah 29:13 says “You shall seek me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” The Scripture doesn’t say that we Might find Him.  It says that we Shall find Him. There is a condition, however.  Finding Him involves searching for Him with all of our hearts.  We seek Him in prayer. We seek Him in the Scriptures.  We seek Him as we listen to preaching. We seek Him as we repent of sin. We seek Him as we obey Him and walk with Him.

 

If God seems distant to you, ask yourself if you are searching for Him with all your heart.  If not, why not?  When I stopped looking for my gloves it was because the gloves were not valuable, they could easily be replaced, and they were not worth the time needed to find them. Perhaps the reason that we do not search for God with all of our heart is that we don’t see Him as valuable. Perhaps we think that He can be easily replaced. Or maybe we have things to do and don’t believe that finding Him is worth the time. A closer walk with God can be found but only for those who search for Him wholeheartedly.

 

Lord, create in me a new heart, a heart that desires You above all else. Open my eyes to how precious and irreplaceable and worthwhile You are. May I search for You with all my heart.  And thank You that when I search for You wholeheartedly, I will find You.