Seek with All Your Heart

If I asked you if you loved God, how would you respond? For many of you reading this post, I would venture to say your response would sound something like mine. “Of course I love God!”

It is easy to profess automatically that we love God with our words, but I want you to ponder another question in your heart today. Do your actions and the way you live your life SHOW that you love God?

I recently heard something that struck me in a profound way. If your life was on trial for being a christian, would the prosecutor have enough evidence to convict you? I don’t know about you, but I want to be convicted beyond reasonable doubt.

In the world we live in, it is so easy to be distracted by to-do-lists, work demands, children’s activities, electronics, and countless other things that demand our time and attention. As a result, spending time with God can be all but forgotten. We flop into our beds utterly exhausted at the end of our days never having opened our bibles, uttered a single prayer, or even thought about God the entire day. I know this because I have had days, and even periods of my life, where I have lived this reality. Did I love God during these times of my life? Had you asked me, I would have said yes. Had you watched my life, I believe it would have spoken differently.

When we love someone, truly love them, doesn’t that change the way we interact with them? I know it has in my life.

My husband and I met while we were in college.  Our paths crossed when one of my best friends developed an interest in one of his roommates. I quickly realized I was interested in this smart, handsome senior, and strategically started studying in a particular spot so that I would run into him and have the opportunity to talk. I would go with my roommate to his house when she visited his friend in hopes he would be home. I may have even asked for help with chemistry homework as an excuse to spend more time with him. Later on in our relationship, my husband would drive 4 hours nearly every weekend to come visit me in graduate school. He would mail me cards, talk to me for hours on the phone, and bring me flowers when he visited. Had someone observed our relationship from the outside, they probably would have said, “Man, they really must love each other.” And they would have been right. The evidence was plain as day.

When we fall in love with someone, we seek them with all of our hearts. We think about them constantly. We would do anything for them. We go out of our way to spend time with them. We make them a priority and place time spent with them above all else.

I share this story with you because this is how I long to love God. When looking back, my relationship with my husband has grown, strengthened, and deepened tremendously since those late nights I spent studying in the science center hoping to catch his eye, but this didn’t happen on accident. It wasn’t until we began, and continued to seek each other, that we truly got to know each other and grow in love. I believe the same is true with God. Our relationship with Him will not grow, strengthen, or deepen unless we seek Him.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you see Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

I don’t know about you, but I want to be so captivated by God that I prioritize Him above everything else in life. I want to strategically plan my day around Him so that I have time to talk with Him in prayer, read His word, and simply spend time in His presence. I long for a deep, loving relationship with my Lord and Savior, and I don’t believe that comes without purposefully seeking Him.

As we enter into this new year, I hope that you will join me truly seeking God and His presence in your life. Seek Him by reading His Word. Seek Him by spending time in prayer. Seek Him by prioritizing Him above all else, so that at the end of the day you don’t end up giving Him what’s left, you will have already given Him your best.

“But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33.

We are called time and time again in scripture to seek God. If you want to seek Him, but are not sure where to start, try meditating on one of these scriptures. Write it on an index card or make it the lock screen on your phone. Read it throughout the day. Commit it to memory. Ask in prayer that God would open your heart to Him and reveal Himself to you. Schedule time in your day to read His word and take to Him in prayer. If you need guidance with this, please reach out to me. May God bless each of you as you seek His face and grow in loving relationship with Him.

“You will seek me and find me when you see me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

“But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33.

“Look to the LORD and His strength; seek his face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11

“Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God..” 1 Chronicles 22:19

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

“I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me find Me.” Proverbs 8:17

“Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.” Psalm 9:10

“The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.” Psalm 14:2

“The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:10

“Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.” Psalm 105:4

“The LORD is good to those who hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him;” Lamentations 3:25

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10