A Question

I was asked a question today by someone whom I care for a lot. The question was concerning the Bible text, Jeremiah 29:13, and what it meant to me. That Scripture says "And you will seek Me, and find Me, when you search for Me, with all your heart". What does that mean to search for God with all your heart. Does it really mean just simply going to church every Sunday, listening to ministers on T.V, or just reading the bible in our spare time, or all the books that have been written about God and Jesus Christ. This is only my opinion, but the answer is no. Not any of those things separate, but all of those things combined. To seek God with all your heart is to have him continually on your mind. There are many people who rationalize. How can I think about God 24 / 7? They rationalize to themselves, I have to think about my children, I have to think about my job, I have to think about the mortgage that is due. The bills to be paid. I have to cook for my nineteen children and three hundred grandchildren.

But what people don't realize is that our Lord said, in His Word, "not to worry about what you are going to wear or what you are going to eat." For Our Father in Heaven already knows what we need. Then there are those who say, if He already knows what we need, than why do we need to pray and tell Him. My answer to that question is, God said, in His word, "I have drawn you with love and kindness." How do we reciprocate love and kindness, with love and obedience. We pray to God and tell him what we need and what we like. God talks to us when we read His word and to those He has anointed to speak His Word. In this we have communication and as we know there can never be a love affair without communication.

It is just like the young teenage girl who first falls in love. She goes home and all you can hear her say is, Johnny said this, Johnny said that. Her brothers, sisters, and parents become sick and tired of her talking about Johnny. They don't want to hear what Johnny says. That is true love, that is admiration. This is what our Lord seeks from us. He wants His words to continually come out of our mouths. Because if God's Words are continually coming out of our mouths, we will follow those words. Here I must use Paul's words, "that I don't claim to have grabbed hold of what has grabbed hold of me, but I press on towards the higher calling of God in Christ." In that Paul was saying that he does not claim to be doing all the things that God is telling him to tell the people. But he is pressing toward that mark. This is what we all should be doing, pressing on, trying to seek God, "with all our heart, our mind, and our strength."

By Johnny Harkins