13 Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 AMPC
It has been far too long since I’ve posted a blog! I’ve been pretty busy this quarter with a new baby, loads of homework, speaking engagements, research work, and conferences. But despite all that is going on, I was just too excited to wait to send this email. God has put a burning fire in my heart, and I cannot go to sleep tonight until I sent this email to you!
I have a simple point I want to make with this post, and here it is: Your level of revelation and relationship with the Lord is directly proportional to your level of hunger for Him.
How much of God do you want?
I’m currently meditating on the endless list of good things God has performed for us. He has provided so much for Jenny, myself, and our boys, it simply defies human ability to describe what it feels like to be on the receiving end of His goodness. God Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who split the Red Sea and created a nation of prosperity and blessing out of broken, beat-down, and dirt poor slaves–that is the God I serve. That is the Friend that I know.
You know how hard God is pursuing you? Do you have any idea how passionately and wholeheartedly He seeks your face? Did you ever consider that His thoughts toward you and about you literally outnumber every atom of sand on the seashore… plus all the sand under the ocean? Friend, you may not know this, but God is never giving up on you. That means that no matter how far from Him you are now, or how close you think you may be, He wants more of you. He desires deep relationship with you.
This deep-seated love is the reason behind Jesus’ sacrificial death, burial, and bodily resurrection about 2000 years ago. Through the Blood of a Man who was born of a human woman, yet Whose spirit was full of God Himself, the Son of God bled and died as a sacrifice of shed blood that provided the ultimate remission of sin.
I mention all this to get you thinking about God. I mean, really thinking about Him. I didn’t say religion, observance, church, mass, or any of that. I want you to sit still for a few minutes and really think about Him. What He is like. What He isn’t like. How much do you want to know Him? He’s so beautiful; so wonderful! If you only could see His face! If you could only hear His heartbeat!
Do you really know Him? Do you say you know Him but honestly have never felt His embrace or heard Him speak? Do you admit that you’ve never known Him, and that you’ve never placed your entire life in Jesus’s hands? Do you admit that you need His saving sacrificial power to wash you clean from a sinful soul? Drop all your self-righteousness and accept His perfect work, friend; don’t wait another minute. Pray right now, “Jesus, You are now the one and only Lord of my life.” Give it all to Him. He is faithful to come into your little spirit and change you for the rest of eternity. You will never be the same again when you lay down everything you’ve got and let Jesus come in with the full wind of His Spirit and His precious cleansing Blood. That is a fact. (If you want to learn more about accepting Jesus’ permanent sacrifice as your own, check out my “Give Your Life to Jesus” page)
How much of God do you want? How much do you want to know this beautiful Savior in whom are all the treasures your heart has ever desired? Jesus truly is the One your heart has been longing for. He wants to give every part of Himself to you, but He respects you enough to honor your boundary. If you’ve built walls up to keep Him out, He isn’t going to come crashing through like a bull. He isn’t going to force Himself on you, just as a gentleman would never force his desire upon a young woman, even if he is consumed by his love for her. God is consumed by His love for you, but He really does respect your “no.” It hurts Him when you turn away from Him, but He is patient. He believes that at some point, through some avenue, perhaps even through a crazy blogger / podcaster, He will get through to you. Whether you are an on-fire friend of God like me or a person who thinks God is about as beautiful as a broom handle, this is for you. There is so much more to Him than you realize.
He is ready and waiting for you; every part of you. One of my favorite verses in the Bible was written by a man who knew God’s voice well. Jeremiah the prophet wrote down word-for-word what God said to him as He spoke to His people. His words didn’t stop centuries ago, nor did they die out with that generation. His words are eternal, and this Scripture is for you and me today. Let these anointed words from God Himself sink deep into your spirit and blaze within your heart. Better yet, let’s personalize this. God is speaking to you and me here.
It goes like this:
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, [put your name here], says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
Then you, [your name], will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.
Then [your name] will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when [your name] searches for Me with all their heart.
It’s that last verse that gets me. You can find God. The Almighty One, unsearchable and glorious, can actually be found. How? You have to want Him. So what are you going to do today that draws you closer to finding and deeply knowing Him? That’s something to think about today!