“You will seek me and find me when you
seek me with your whole heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
God told
the Israelites these words after He told them they would be in exile for 70
years. He told them He knew his plans for them and these plans were for their
future good (29:11)
Several
years ago, the words of our focus verse caused me to catch my breath. I learned
I have to be honest with God and let Him direct my life. God doesn’t want us to
“play” at belonging to Him. He wants us to be honest with Him about who we are
in relation to who He is and what we want for our lives. God sees all and knows
all about us. He knows our every thought, no matter what it may be.
As we
observe the Lenten season, let us evaluate our attitudes and behaviors to see
if we need to allow Jesus to prune away any habits we might have that displease
Him. When we feel His removing from us those tendencies that displease Him, we
need to let go of them. His actions are for our betterment.
We
sometimes have to relinquish who we are and what we want. I recently read a
book by Charles Stanley where he spoke of our ‘being neutral in our requests we
make of God. What I came away with was that we were to lay our desires before
Him and let Him work them out to His glory. We have to remember that God is in
control and always has the last word on all things.
Have you
ever tried to send God prayers of thanksgiving and praise? When we do this we
don’t ask for anything. I once heard an evangelist say that one day his son
came in and lay down across the bed. The father was working on his computer and
asked his son what he wanted. The son’s reply was sweet, “I don’t want
anything; I just wanted to hang out with you.” We should all want to “just hang
out with” God. Be in His presence and enjoy Him.