Jeremiah 29:11-14a
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,” declares the Lord….
The first time the LORD lifted a Scripture off of the page and said to me, ‘this is for you’, Jeremiah 29:11 became His promise to me. What an incredible promise… and what a joy to know that His plans for me are for good and not to destroy me – the lie I had been believing for most of my life was that He was out to get me… and not in a good way! A while ago, the LORD said to me about Jeremiah 29:11 – ‘you need to keep reading….’. As I read on, the rest of the passage and its promises spoke to me as well. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
This morning I woke up with this question in my mind: LORD, please show me what it means to truly seek You with all of my heart…. How do I do that? Honestly, I feel like I am seeking Him with all of my heart… my question to the LORD is: how I am missing the mark?
My reading today in the Psalms was Psalm 106:10-31, and in it God describes His unfaithful people who are doing the opposite of what seeking Him looks like. As I read, my question came to mind…. What does it mean to truly seek You? From that passage, I got the following:
1. Believe His Word.
2. Sing His praise.
3. Remember His great works in my own life and in the lives of others.
4. Wait on Him and His counsel.
5. Remember Him all of the time.
6. Glorify Him alone.
7. Believe in His great promises.
8. Have faith in His promises found throughout His Word.
9. Obey His voice (His commands).
10. Intercede (pray) for those who are in sin and are falling away from the LORD.
Oh, and the last thing is…. Do not complain – EVER! His plans and His work are working a good thing in me and in His people…. His promise in Romans 8:28 says so. He is trustworthy – and He will work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.