As they sat despondent and miserable in a far off land, suffering due to their own poor judgment, the Lord delivered a remarkable promise to the Jewish exiles in Babylon:

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

The Lord also promised to prosper them, to answer their prayers, and to eventually return them to Jerusalem. But regardless of where they lived or what masters forced them to labor, God stood ready to be found.

The Jewish people lost their hold on the promised land due to their rejection of the Lord. Yet God provided a way back, which involved a wholehearted turn of contrition and repentance. Jesus voiced the same idea to the scribes when he said love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

It’s amazing that God can actually be found, discovered by mere mortals, blameworthy creatures like you and me. However, the route involves devotion, constancy and adherence to his ways. Dabbling with God as I enjoy the fruits of this world fails the all of your heart test.

Yet the promise of such a worthy quest remains. I pursue all sorts of treasure and riches and fame. But to find God? Nothing matches that potential discovery that comes only through relentless, wholehearted seeking.

Jeremiah 29 & Luke 10 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Warren