Camp Meeting Devotions - Day Eight

 Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB)

¹³  'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

I loved playing hide and seek as a child. I could out hide and out find all my siblings, cousins, and friends. There was one person I could never hide from without being discovered. My grandmother. She told me once  she would always find me if she had a notion to do so. I did know what a notion was. I thought she had a supernatural power. She found me every single time.  Even when I went to my go to hiding places where nobody could find me. She did when she had a notion to discover my hiding spot. That always amazed me. 

God is not trying to hide from us. He wants to be found. The real question is do we have a notion to seek Him. To seek God means to strive after Him, to investigate Him, and to desire Him. Let's start with desiring Him. Do we desire more of God? If we do not desire Him, we will not seek or investigate Him. 

It is baffling how many people have no desire for God. No desire to investigate Him. Like a detective trying to find clues to solve a case. Searching painstakingly over a crime scene. Leaving no leaf unturned. Taking note of every detail. We should seek God with that kind of ferocity and attention. It is not a one time event. It is a life long pilgrimage. A journey of discovery. A serious seeking. 

God tells us that we will seek Him and find Him. That means we will discover and meet Him. Like a person combing the beach with a metal detector hoping to find some buried treasure. They meticulously scour the area with the expectation of discovering something valuable. Imagine their delight when they do uncover the treasure. God is the treasure we are looking for. He can be found in encounter after encounter. He is greater than any buried treasure. He is the only person that can satisfy the deepest cravings of our soul. 

Finding Him means meeting with Him. He waits this morning in our secret place. He waits for us to go to that old familiar place. To lock out all the other distractions and continue our pursuit to find Him. Those meetings with Him are life transforming. They are the highlights in other wise monotonous living. Meeting with our Father in close communion thrills the soul and lifts us higher out of the doldrums of ordinary lives. God encounters can be extraordinary leading to the most grand adventures. 

Some might argue that is not their experience. They may have quiet times reading their Bible and praying. They might protest that those times of devotions are not very exciting. They may seem dull and routine. Let's meditate on the next part of today's verse. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart.

How many search for God with all of their heart? The word search here is different than the word seek earlier in this verse.   To search means to examine intimately and to ponder. 

Brenda once took me to A Bible Museum and art gallery. I found a replica of a famous statue of Moses. Hand carved. Massive in size. Intricate in details down to curls in the hair, toe nails, and facial features. I stood mesmerized for a long time closely examining every minute detail. I got caught up in the wonder of the artist's masterpiece. Oblivious to other seekers and my surroundings. Later I found selections of paintings by my favorite artist, Thomas Kincaid. I stood before each painting motionless, pondering every nuance, ray of light, hidden wildlife, and splash of color for so long that Brenda moved on without me. Those paintings captivated me. Consumed my imagination. Thrilled my soul. 

If people can closely examine and ponder things like man made art, why can't we do the same with God. If we are not closely examining Him that might explain why devotions seem dry. It takes time to read the scriptures and ponder the truths there that lead us into God encounters. We are in such a hurry. Those who do make time for devotions are often rushing through them to check it off their to do list before moving onto the next item on the agenda. God is not an item on a to do list. He wants to be discovered for serious seekers. He will not be boxed in by our time constraints. Like I read in a book about revival yesterday, "Serious God seekers are always finders." 

The challenge is to search for the Almighty with all of our hearts. That means with all of our inner being. Our minds, our wills, and our affections. Does that describe the intensity of our seeking? We are exhorted to search for God with all of our intellect. To crack open the Bible and give serious intellectual rigorous study. To read the text. To ask probing questions. To learn. To contemplate the character of God. We are not done after this. We must will to search for God. To resolve to press through dull religious routines until we actually meet with Him. Once we have thought deeply about God, and determined to meet with Him, then our affections will blaze in passionate love, adoration, and new discoveries of Him. We must search for Him with all of our hearts if we hope to find Him. Happy will be those who discover Yahweh of the journey. 

• Describe your devotion times. Are they filled with God encounters are dull?
• Examine the level of your seeking God currently? Have there been times when you have sought Him more than you are doing now? If so, explain what happened to lessen your searching?
• Does your search for God incorporate the use of your mind, will, and affections? List ways those can help in your searching. 
• Are you finding God in your search? Take some extra time to discover and meet Him today.