Most Christians have heard the great verse in Jeremiah that proclaims … “I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity ,to give you a future and a hope” But it is far less often that the 2 verses that follow are recited with it. They proclaim… “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 search for Me with all of your heart”
I used to think that this “searching for Him with all my heart” was simply a measure of how much I was searching for him. I thought it meant that I was searching for Him more than anything else. I thought it meant that I am supposed to seek Him more than anything else. But now I realize that although it does mean those things, it also means something greater and much different. It means that if my whole heart is searching for Him than there is not another piece of my heart, no matter how small in size, that is searching after anything else. He is a jealous God that will not be found until He is the only thing sought after. Consider the words of A.W Tozer…
“When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the “and” lies our great woe. If we omit the “and” we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.”
What are we seeking other than Him? What earthly pursuit or goal do we think will satisfy the longing of our heart other than Him?
