All Out Search

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

Remember being sent to look for something when you were a child? More times than not I would return with the news that I wasn’t able to find whatever I was supposed to be looking for. My mama would then go look herself and would usually return with it, responding that I must not have been looking very hard. What she was saying was that I was doing some halfhearted searching.
When we lose something precious, we often spend a lifetime looking for something to compensate for the loss. We may be searching halfheartedly, looking to fill that void, finding only pain and disappointment. We may be searching desperately and don’t really know that it is the presence of God that we need to find most of all. In a time when it seemed all was hopelessly lost, God spoke through Jeremiah that He could be found…if someone was seriously seeking Him.

I. SEEKING GOD MEANS ACTIVELY SEARCHING FOR HIM. Our desire to seek God comes from outside ourselves. It is not our idea to go on a quest to find God, though we may think so. God decides to reveal Himself. God helps us find Him as He progressively reveals Himself. He does this when He sees us acting on the desire to find Him. When He sees us looking, He knows we are seriously considering Him. Actively searching means taking steps to look for Him where He may be found. God will not be found where His name is not glorified, although He may reveal Himself in the midst of ungodly situations. I will not find God in the midst of committing adultery, but God may send a witness to deliver convicting truth. Seriously seeking God means looking where you would expect to find Him. He is revealed in the preaching and teaching of His word, through the prayers of His people and through the church in pursuit of His purpose. Actively searching for Him is participating and becoming involved on our part.
II. SEARCHING FOR GOD IS NOT A HALF-HEARTED EFFORT. Searching with the whole heart is searching with a passion. A half-hearted search indicates that we really don't care about finding what we are looking for. Who among us would search for a missing child with a half-hearted effort? When we search for God, we search for what we have been missing our whole lives. We must be earnest in the effort. A half-hearted attempt to find God will not produce results. We must be abandoned to the search and desperate to find Him. And we will only find God when He chooses to reveal Himself.
III. WE FIND GOD WHEN GOD REVEALS HIMSELF. Someone has described God revealing Himself like a father who teaches his children how to play hide-and-seek. God is like the father who clears his throat while yet in his hiding place, allowing his children to experience the joy of “finding” him. God teaches us how to be a part of the game. He watches to see if we are interested and participating in the search. Then He “clears His throat”, allowing us the joy of finding the One who has been there all along.