If You Seek Me With All Your Heart, You Will Find Me
March 31
Deuteronomy 4:29 “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Losing or misplacing something of value or high importance can cause worry, anxiety, and stress. The level of concern is often based on the value of the lost or misplaced item. We’ve all had experiences of not being able to find something and then spending time looking for it - sometimes, it is a significant amount of time. I remember one time I couldn’t find my debit card. I had used it on that particular day running some errands. Being a creature of habit, I always put the card in the same place which is either in my pocket or wallet. It wasn’t until several hours later that I was going to use my card again to buy a meal at a restaurant. Before leaving the house, I checked my pocket - and then my wallet - and didn’t find my card. Panic set in immediately.
I spent the next half hour looking everywhere in my house. I checked other pockets, the trash, the garage where my truck was parked, and in the bags of the items I purchased. Not finding the card, I double-checked those same places again. It didn’t matter. The card was not there. My sense of worry and anxiety was high. What if someone found it and is spending my money? What’s the spending limit on the card? What am I going to do until I get a replacement card? To further add to the panic, it was a Friday evening, and the bank was closed for the weekend. Finally resolved that I had no other option than to wait for Monday when the bank opened, I accepted the fact that all the looking and searching resulted in coming up “empty-handed.” (There was great relief the next day when I went to my truck and noticed the card lying on the floor in the back seat!)
I can spend a lot of time and energy searching for things. How does that compare to the amount of time and energy I spend searching for God? Seeking God and growing in His grace and His knowledge is infinitely greater and more important than anything my lost or misplaced worldly possessions can offer. God promises that if I seek Him, I WILL find Him. He isn’t a distant or hard-to-find God. He isn’t elusive or here one day and gone the next. God is always present and actively involved in all the details of my life. When I seek Him everyday, I will always find Him. He will reveal Himself to me. I will grow in my relationship with Him and deepen my understanding of His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I will be reminded that He is with me, loving me, guiding me, and protecting me every step of the way. All of this comes more into focus when I seek Him with all my heart and all my soul. But, I must do this seeking and searching everyday.
Deuteronomy 4:29 is one of my favorite verses because of the amazing promise found in it. A few years ago I heard the song, “The More I Seek You” which contains these lyrics: “The more I seek you, the more I find you - the more I find you, the more I love you.” Yes. Seeking God leads to finding Him (learning more about who He is and His love for me) which leads to loving Him more and more. The more I seek God, the more I find Him. The more I find Him, the more I love Him because of what I learn about Him. In the last 4 1/2 years, one discipline I have established is daily devotions. This time every morning has become a really important part of my day. It has been a great way to start my day reading from God’s Word and learning more about who He is and His heart for me. He is not distant or far from me. Daily I am reminded that He is with me guiding and protecting me. I am thankful and grateful for what I am learning and for all that He is revealing to me.