Keep Calm and Seek God

Greetings,
Sorry it has been awhile since I posted. But I hope this will make up for it!! Open your heart and let these be God's words to you not mine.

"You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13

This is directly after the very famous (often out of context) verse of Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you, - declares the LORD- plans for your welfare, not your disaster, to give you a future and hope." This is the God's words to the oppressed Jews of Babylon. In verse 11, God is promising a future peace and a future release from captivity for them. And then in verse 13, He is giving them hope while they are still captives. And in verse 13 is where our true hope is found in this passage.

One of the biggest problems I have encountered in a small town (might just be my small town) is the fact that the students don't think a month in advance. When planning events that are 2 or 3 months away many of the students just think, "I can deal with that when it gets closer." It makes getting people signed up for events extremely difficult. I attribute this to the fact that students wait to see if something better comes up for them to do. In a small town there is no telling what will come up. If you have ever heard of cantaloupe bowling you know exactly what I'm talking about. Who knew that throwing fruit around an empty parking lot (or anywhere you can find) could be so much fun?

But back on topic. Students live for today. They are not thinking about 15, 20 or 30 years down the road. So I think Jeremiah 29:13 is the verse that fits this mentality perfect. Yes God has plans for us in the future, but what about now? What about all the drops and valleys on the roller coaster we call life? This is where our real hope in Christ is found. Whenever we truly seek God, He will always be there. He never leaves.

I think all to many times we seek God when we need something. When we have a crisis or are in a situation that we see no way out. I've never heard someone who is constantly being blessed quote Jeremiah 29:11. It is always the oppressed and struggling. We ask God for help but once we get back to where we have our heads above water we soon forget who was there to pull us up, until we are struggling yet again. If we truly seek Him with our whole heart all the time, we are a lot more likely to keep our heads above water.

Truly seeking God requires everything that we have. All of our heart, body, mind, soul, and strength. If we only seek God for the things we need in life we are completely forgetting all the things He has already done for us. When we seek God with all of our heart it shows. People around us start to notice. I can promise you right now, no matter how smart you are, God is smarter. Sometimes students think they are "Google." They think they have all the answers to any question you can throw their way. And just like Google, they may have answers but they are not always correct or helpful answers.

My prayer is that anytime you think of Jeremiah 29:11, that you also cling to the rest of the passage as well. We have more than just hope for the future, we have a God that is with us always.


May God Bless you in a very special way this week!

Tyler