Proper Seeking

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13, ESV)

In life, we all seek a lot of things but do we seek the most important things. And if we do, with what intensity do we seek them. I have to confess, that at times, too man times, I have found myself with priorities that were all mixed up.

I have this big problem. I guess it comes from my technical background. I just cannot stand seeing things that are broken but fixable, remaining broken. Whether it is a car, a boat, an appliance, or anything else, I will not rest until I have fixed it or had it repaired. It is an obsession that I will often pursue above everything else. What is the problem? It is that I pursue the material at the expense of the eternal. Fixing things can become an idol in my life and I often trip in this area. It is a problem of my heart’s focus.

This is the same problem that the Israelites had at the time of the Babylonian exile. The Lord’s desire is that when He returns the nation to Jerusalem, that they will seek Him with a whole heart. He sent this message to the exiles in a letter written by Jeremiah. It is a simple message, but one that always needs repeating.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

We need the reminder constantly to seek the Lord with full devotion, with all our heart. This is not a legalistic plea, a push towards some external system that will force us to do certain things. No, the Lord is talking about an internal change in the heart that will drive one to seek Him with fervent desire.

For us this has come by faith in Jesus Christ. When we experienced the wonder of God’s grace by faith there was a change in our hearts wrought by the Holy Spirit. One that drives us to seek the Lord our God. However, there is a battle in this. It is a battle with the old nature. Paul wrote about this battle to the Galatians.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:16–17, ESV)

The thing that keeps us from seeking the Lord with a whole heart is the fleshly desires that still dwell within us. Yes, there are three forces that work to get us off track. One is the spiritual forces of evil. Another is the world system. Yet the one that is so attracted to these two forces is the force of our own fleshly desires.

Many will give you a bunch of things to do and not do in order to fix this issue. Things like read this book, pray three times a day, fast once a week, read three chapters a day, etc. While these things are not bad, the heart is more complex than this. First, let us contemplate the wonder of God’s grace and all He has done for us. When we consider and grasp the wonder of His infinite love, His mercy, and His grace, will our hearts not be redirected?

Next understand that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and that even in our failures God’s love and mercy never fails.

Last, and I have to do this often, ensure the priorities of life do not get out of balance. Realize that the forces arrayed against us are working to keep us from the blessing of our relationship with the one who gave everything for us.