Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart
THEME OF THE DAY: HOW TO SEEK THE LORD WITH A WHOLE HEART. Life’s greatest pursuit is to know God. Life’s greatest satisfaction is knowing God. Life’s greatest purpose is to know God. Life’s greatest challenge is knowing God. And the challenges to know Him are multiple. I won’t list them. I don’t need to. All of us may quickly generate a list of all the “time-stealers” which make seeking the Lord a daily challenge. But there is one thing we must say about “time-stealers.” Be very careful not to schedule “time-stealers” that make seeking the Lord in prayer and Word a challenge. There are unavoidable responsibilities challenging our time, but be mindful of those “time-stealers” we choose to put into our lives. If we are filling all of our free time with worldly things leaving no time for the Lord to get to know Him, this is a serious spiritual issue requiring immediate attention. What is revealed if such is the case in our lives is a lack of desire to know the Lord. That should make us tremble. To be a professing Christian in love with the Lord, but fail to validate that love by time spent to know the Lord is a spiritual contradiction of the highest degree. So, with that aside, let’s consider the “how to’s” when it comes to a seeking the Lord with a whole heart as directed by Him through the prophet Jeremiah.
Before we look at the “how to’s” of a seeking heart, there is something which must be established or the seeking will not occur. If we are to put the effort, and yes, it is the greatest of efforts to seek the Lord with a whole heart, we must be convinced of the worthiness of the Lord to be sought. There must be awareness of the beauty, majesty, glory, and love of the Lord that makes our seeking of Him our greatest desire and delight. Should we not be given spiritual eyes to see the awesomeness of the Lord and how worthy He is to be given our maximum effort in seeking Him, we will not last in the pursuit. To begin to seek Him, we must see the value of the One we are seeking. Now five “how to’s” to seek the Lord with a whole heart . . .
First, we seek Him affectionately. That means out of love. Always remember our relationship with God is one of love. Lovers want time together. They want to be alone. Never lose sight of this. It will rule the day when we don’t feel like reading our Bibles or praying.
Next, we seek Him diligently. We don’t rush through quiet times. We don’t look at our clocks during the sermons each week. We don’t mindlessly read our Bibles. Our seeking of God is to be with great mental diligence constantly aware and fighting the many distractions seeking to pull us away from Him. One of the greatest tools of the devil is to get Christians not to discipline and renew their minds to fight this area of spiritual warfare. Mindless Christians will be spiritually aimless and spiritually immature Christians.
Thirdly, we seek Him consistently. A spiritual life of inconsistency simply will not get close to the Lord. God honors faithfulness; a “stick to it” attitude that perseveres through times of spiritual dryness and spiritual winter. Be consistent and watch how real the Lord becomes as we seek Him with all our hearts faithfully.
Fourthly, we seek Him uncompromisingly. Entertain any sin, play with any temptation, allow any worldly attitude or pursuit to find lodging in our hearts, and our seeking Him will stop. Always remember, we are seeking a God who is holy, holy, holy, and will only be known by those seeking to be holy, holy, holy.
Finally, we seek Him purposefully. Our God is a God of order and purpose. Every time we go to prayer; every time we open our Bible; every time we go to church, take a moment and meditate on who we are seeking to encounter – the one true and living God. Everything we do in the Christian life is to point us to Christ; to behold His glory, marvel over His Person, and enjoy His Presence. And that will occur when we seek Him with our whole heart – affectionately, diligently, consistently, uncompromisingly, and purposefully.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to be a whole heart seeker of You as the chief desire in my life.”
QUOTE: “Seeking the Lord with a whole heart begins by seeing His worthiness to be sought with a whole heart.”