Jeremiah 29:12-14 (MSG)
“When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.
Have you ever had a time when a family member had lost something and they came to you for help to find the item they had misplaced? I have four children, and at different times they have lost various things such as items of school clothing, a drink bottle (we have misplaced roughly fifty million drink bottles in our twelve years of parenting so far), an overdue library book or a favourite toy. When they have come to me and asked for my help finding said lost item I am more than happy and capable to help them, however, my first response when this happens is always to check where they have looked already. Usually these lost items are not as lost as they may appear, it’s just that they haven’t been searched for wholeheartedly.
Maybe when you think about God, it’s difficult to locate Him in your world. He feels impossibly misplaced, distant, hiding somewhere out of reach.In the above passage however, God makes three incredible promises when it comes to searching for and finding Him.
Firstly, God promises that he listens when we pray to Him. God inclines his ear to our voice when we talk to Him. When we are anxious and ask for his peace, he is listening; when we are unsure which path to take he is listening to our requests for His wisdom and direction. Some of us may picture God similar to a parent who is regularly distracted by their phone whilst their children try to get their attention, but this verse shows us that our Father God is always listening when we start talking to Him!
Secondly, God promises that when we search for him wholeheartedly, we will find him. The Message paraphrase says it this way; when we “get serious about finding [Him], and want it more than anything else,” we’ll find Him. God has the right to hold off jumping out from behind the couch and saying, “here I am,” until we cultivate a heart that wants God more than anything else. More than earthly possessions; more than the trillionth Netflix series binge; more than a pay rise; God, I want You!
Lastly, God promises that as we discover Him, we won’t be disappointed. There are many things that we search for to fill our lives with meaning, joy and purpose, but ultimately God is promising here that when we make our pursuit and life focus about our connection with Him, we will not be disappointed! How can we put this blog into practice? By ensuring that whether we have been a Christian a long or short time, or we are still unsure whether God is real or not, that we implement a wholehearted pursuit of God. We know that any relationship that is guaranteed to thrive and be healthy requires wholeheartedness, so let’s ensure that we are pursuing our relationship with God with this same wholeheartedness too.
A personal invitation.
If you are unsure how to begin this wholehearted relationship with God, it begins with a simple, wholehearted prayer. I have written a short prayer for anyone who would like to begin that relationship today.
Father God,
Thank you for loving me, thank you for sending your Son Jesus to pay the price for my sin. Today, I am choosing to say “yes” to a personal relationship with you. I receive your love, I receive your forgiveness, I receive new life today. From this day forward I will follow you with all my heart. Today I confess with my mouth that you are my Lord and Saviour. Amen!
God bless you if you prayed that prayer today – you have made an incredible decision! If you would like to know more about how to connect with God, please reach out to us, or consider signing up for our upcoming Alpha programs – these are designed for people who are wanting to know more about faith, life and meaning, and they are a perfect way to, “get serious about finding Him.”
We are blessed with an amazing team of Chaplains across the life of our College. Here is a highlight video from the first term of 2023 from Pastor Dan:
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