Seek God Wholeheartedly (with Mark Middelberg) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established,” said seventeenth-century
philosopher Blaise Pascal, “that unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” We must search after God with passion and tenacity. If you already know him, heed the lessons of Psalm 42:1–2: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Are you panting after and thirsting for the living God? And for our friends who don’t know him, the search for God can be perplexing—especially
in a world where there are so many spiritual options. With the vast and growing array of religious leaders, teachings, and organizations all vying for their allegiance, how can they sort out what to believe? Fortunately Jesus promised in Luke 11:9 that if they’ll ask, they will receive; if they’ll seek, they will find; and if they’ll knock, the door will be opened to them. He did not say this would be easy or that truth would be served up on a silver platter. Rather, the answer to their spiritual quest will come if they persistently look for it. The prophet Jeremiah said, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). This “all your heart” aspect counteracts our tendency toward complacency. It’s easy to put off thinking about weighty spiritual matters, to passively accept traditional religious practices, or to simply submit to the teachings of spiritual authorities who want to impress their beliefs upon us. Yielding to these approaches might have been a natural response when we were young, but there comes a point when we must mature in matters of faith and make certain we have embraced the right set of beliefs. But here’s some great news: Jesus didn’t just tell us to seek him; he said he also “came to seek and to save” us (Luke 19:10). And he made this promise to anyone who will embrace and hold to his teaching: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). God “rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Even after we’ve come to know Christ, we still need to pant after and thirst for him. James 4:8 tells us to “come near to God and he will come near to [us].” So seek him today—while helping friends who don’t know him learn to ask, seek, and knock.
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