Searching for GOD with all of Our Heart is NOT New
As much as I enjoy the Lord Jesus, I have found that “searching for GOD with all of my heart” seems new to me. I realize it is something I must grow to understand past all my historical studies of this topic.
NOTE: I MUST KNOW HIM and CHOOSE to OBEY and FOLLOW His Ways.
Seeking the Mighty GOD with all YOUR heart is not just an intellectual exercise. It is a whole‑person commitment that integrates your mind, emotions, will, and actions toward Him. Scripture sets this as a Command with Scriptures such as these…
“Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” – Deuteronomy 6:4‑5
“Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” – Matthew 22:37
All the Law, precepts, Yeshua and the prophets assure us all that GOD is found by those who search for Him earnestly. The entire chapter of Jeremiah 29 speaks to that, but it is sharply relayed there in the Jeremiah 29:13 reference.
…talk about making a sad and expectedly predictable situation better, and tougher at the same time. Frequently preachers and other people take Jeremiah 29:11 and twist it to be more than what the context is speaking to. The Judeans are not just distant from their GOD; they are now in prison in a faraway land due to their blatant disobedience. This is the setting for the Jeremiah 29 chapter.
NOTE: Don’t get stuck on repeat at verse 11. You MUST reverse course and start at verse one of chapter 29 to get the real picture of what the LORD GOD is inviting them to do.
As always, the Creator of all mankind desires for His creation to love and obey Him. Israel proper had not. We struggle now, as they did.
Here, we see the Southern Tribes (Judean and Benjamite) are in a foreign land. GOD is speaking through Jeremiah once more to remind the captives of today to still pursue and seek their ELOHIM even while in this place.
They had 70 years to be there, get comfortable, mature, grow, marry, multiply and pray for the place they have been sent – but still work to serve Him, their Helper, their Hope and their Holy GOD.
This is MY desire and aim!
This morning, there was quite the discussion (between the Holy Spirit and I) that led me to this post, and Jeremiah 29:13 was the driving force that summoned me out of bed to get this written and studied – yet again.
“…for thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good Word to you, to bring you back to this place.” – Jer 29:10
“…for I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” – Jer 29:11
“Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” – Jer 29:12
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” – Jer 29:13
“I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,” declares the LORD, “and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.” – Jer 29:14
Although this exile was in Babylon, the similarities are not much different than ours today. As we continue to persistently walk away from ADONAI in disobedience and trusting self-proclaimed prophets who were NOT speaking the Words of the LORD, we too find out own selves in a distant spiritual place [captivity]. It will take many of us YEARS to return to Him, and in the symbolism that this Book shows us, MOST of us WILL NOT.
I thank GOD for the faithful remnant of that time in Scripture… the (3) Hebrew brothers, Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel. There are thousands that returned at the 70-year mark, but many more DID NOT.
“…then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”— Jer 29:12
YOU (us) will have to <qara> call on, cry out, or summon, intentionally reach toward GOD.
YOU (us) will come and <palal> pray to Him in a deliberate manner. This is not a quick, “I need/I want.” He desires to hear from us/you in sustained prayer.
I (He) will listen tells us that He will shama. GOD will not only actively hear that person but respond in kind. He is NOT unaware of you and where you are. He knows you and I need Him, but we live and act as if…
NOTE: Don’t make this ONLY about them but make CERTAIN to consider your probable withdrawn state. If you look intently, you will see how clearly and well this statement expresses a timeless pattern we, His created, have woven. Consider how our proper response to His desire will facilitate our own restoration.
If you recall, the Elyon (GOD Most High) had already declared His good plans (see v.11), but He reveals How He wants us to know Him. Experiencing Him in the ways He wants will draw us near to Him.
NOTE: He desires relationship, trust, and participation, from us.
The exiles were told to settle in for seventy years. In those years they were expected (invited) into extended obedience, a substantial shaping change and continued faithfulness.
Prayer wasn’t a shortcut; just like today, it is the lifeline that keeps us closely in tune with GOD’s Spirit and will, as He unfolds what He is doing.
“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” – Jer 29:13
What is it about “seek” and “search” with “all of my heart” that got me out of bed as I did?
NOTE: We are to be in a constant state of search and commitment – not the convenience we have currently. This will not draw us closer to Him/Them.
The hunt for (baqash) Him in a pursuit is to be earnest. Recall the most recent things you chased after, that you desired with great intentionality. It’s the interest in Him that should be hunger, not curiosity.
The search/inquiry (darash) of Him requires EVERY person to pray, study, readiness to ask questions and to investigate Who He is, and what His Ways are! We men are to be devoted to prayer and understanding. This (not all, but the majority) helps us to become devoted to Him. There is NO relationship with He, His Son or His Spirit without pursuit!
Together they (hunting & searching) describe a man who is fully turned toward GOD. This does not describe a partial, occasional and experimental acquaintance. Its LOVE man!
NOTE: You can’t experience the “New” Covenant without understanding and knowing the “Original” One. PLEASE DO NOT ignore it! This is the Covenant promise that wholehearted pursuit always leads to real encounters with the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaChodesh!
NOTE: “EVERYTHING (2 things) hinges on the Law and the Prophets…”, per Jesus’ Words in Matthew 22:40
I am confident that those in spiritual and relational dissonance from GOD were the people who Jeremiah wrote this to. Like us, they probably felt condemned and far from GOD in their displacement. The fact is… Their disobedience got them there. Our defiance got us HERE!
SONG: https://youtu.be/1L_hslFab3c?si=QuYM_DPVKM3TR4v8
Will our obedience get us home? …or, will we choose to stay away and at a distance from GOD, His Son and the Holy Spirit of Truth?