“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:13

"Seek me and you will find me." What comforting words to hear, only sometimes we twist that into what we want to hear. We read that as "I'll get what I want when I ask."

There are verses in the Bible that support that, however, I’ve come to find that's not what God is saying here.

We as Christians are put into positions where we are truly at a loss. We have no idea what comes next or what we should choose to do. This is going to sound oversimplified, but God is simply giving you the answer...seek Him.

This verse is normally put together with Jeremiah 29:11 where our ears are pleased by God telling us He has plans for us, good plans at that. What I think we forget sometimes is that those are His plans and not our own. In times where we are searching for answers, God is telling us to search for Him with all our hearts. That means that we need to completely strip away everything inside of us that chases our own desires.

Even then, God is not offering answers immediately. In this verse, God offers us Him. He’s offering His presence. God tells us time and time again to seek after Him.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will gain it. What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?” -Matthew 16:25-26

God never tells us to seek for our own desires. So many times, we find ourselves asking for God’s approval of our plans instead of what His plans consist of. Letting go of our plans to seek the heart of God is where our purpose is found. It isn’t in the prosperity He gives us, but the giving of Himself.