Seek Me With All Your Heart

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11. Raise your hand if you've heard this in at least 2 out of every 3 graduation speeches you've listened to...yep, right there with you! In fact, I'm guilty for using it in my own speech at graduation in high school. It sounds overused but in reality, it's a reminder we should be praying through daily. When we're scared of the future, trying to make a big decision, unsure of what job to take or city to move to. It brings this verse back into reality. Choosing to pray through our futures and plans enables us to hand over the decision to the Lord, taking the pressure completely off! All we have to do is yield our decision to Him, knowing He will prosper us, not harm us. He wants to give us a beautiful, prosperous future. That doesn't mean life will be easy and worry free, but we will be walking in His will. Life is much better when we allow Him to direct our path.

We usually stop at verse 11, but I love the following verses: "'Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:12-14a. When we seek Him with everything we are, everything we have, we will find Him. Beautiful passage! I think many times we're wrapped up in ourselves, so much so that our prayers and desires are half-hearted. We "seek" Him at our leisure or convenience, only when we've tried everything else. We think we have all the answers, but in reality we've just prolonged the path to get to Him. We've taken the scenic route, full of potholes, flat tires, wrong turns down dark alleys, and breakdowns. He's provided us the best path, we must choose to accept it. Trust Him to guide and direct your future!