“You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me!” Jeremiah 29:12-13
To seek Him; do we really know what it means to seek Him? Webster’s Dictionary defines the word seek as “to look for; to try to get.” Seems simple enough, and it is. The key phrase to be noted in the verse above is ‘with all your heart’.
There are certain characteristics, or attributes, which are essential in order to search with all your heart.
- First, is to be open to – This involves both the senses and the mind. To be open to something, one must first believe it possible. Believe. Pray: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Mark 9:24
- Second, is to be aware of – This means to be alert, to be attentive; to pay attention to details. How often do we miss something important because we weren’t paying close enough attention? “From this time forward I make you hear new things, hidden things that you have not known.” Isaiah 48:6, and also, “Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear and your soul shall live.” Isaiah 55:3
- Third is to anticipate – Anticipate means to expect, to regard as probable, to hope. It also means to trust in the outcome, to have faith in. We continue to seek because we expect good results. Anticipate; await in trust. “Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.” 2 Corinthians 3:12
- Fourth is to greet – When we greet, we go forward to welcome with a smile. We relish the idea of what is to come. We eagerly seek Him. “Taste and see the goodness of The Lord.” Psalm 34:8
- Last, is to question – We ask when, where, what, why, and how? We ask in order to discover, to understand, to know. Knowledge is power. “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5
Each of the above attributes is an actual quality innate in all of us. We must, however, cultivate and nourish them with use! We must actually set out to seek Him with all our heart.
As the New Year approaches we don’t need a resolution; we need a plan. Personally, I have found it helps to have a plan. To do this, I create a personal mission statement for the year, and check in on it from time to time to see how I am doing; if I am accomplishing my goals. The first mission statement I created was for 2010: “To add stillness to my prayer time becoming more infused with God, that I may heed His voice to live according to His plan within my financial means; to share His love for all through my joyful spirit; and to use my creative talents to reflect His Glory.”
I can’t begin to describe all the changes and accomplishments that came about as a result. I have grown and been stretched by Him in wonderful, exciting, and a little bit scary, ways. My public, personal spiritual journal entitled “Journey Through The Stillness” and shared on facebook, and my website and blog at http://marthasorbit.com/dailyblog/ were just two of the major happenings. I then tweaked my mission statement for 2011: “To continue time in prayer and stillness before God, discerning what is mine to do, that I may live within His plan for my life spiritually, physically, and financially; to discover and develop fully my creative talents, that I may share His love joyfully and reflect His Glory to all.”
And now for 2012: “To redouble my efforts to keep Stillness before God at the forefront of my spiritual relationship with Him, that I may gain the necessary knowledge and discernment to go forth in what is mine to do, using each of my talent gifts to joyfully reflect His Glory that all might come to know Him.”
Do you have a plan? Do you seek Him with all your heart? When you do, you will find Him.
If you are interested in creating a mission statement for yourself, here is the link that got me started: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/mission-statement-101/lifeandmoney_goalsetting/
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