Seeking and Finding God
In the Old Testament, God’s presence and His relationship with His people was mediated through priests and the temple system. The people of God worshiped God and prayed to Him, but it was the priests who would enter a sacred space and speak with God on their behalf.
They revered God, but they were still separated from Him.
However, the prophet Jeremiah wrote about a time when God’s people would be able to experience a direct relationship with Him. God’s Spirit would dwell in them, and they could find Him anywhere at any time.
Through Jesus, Jeremiah's prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus sent the Spirit of God to dwell within us, to have access to God’s presence at any time.
This means that God is never far from you—just like it says in Jeremiah 29:13, He can be found when we seek Him. He is present and ready for a relationship with you.
Jeremiah also says that we must seek God with all of our heart. We don't just seek God, He seeks us as well. When you pursue a relationship with God, He wants access to every part of you. The way you think, the way you act, and even the way you feel.
He wants to transform your entire life.
At first, it may seem hard to give God access to our past, or the things we’re ashamed of. But God is full of grace and mercy, and He wants us to be free from those things. Seeking God with all of your heart may feel risky at times, but we can trust He knows best and will love us regardless of what we’ve done.
Ask God to reveal within you any part of your life that you haven’t surrendered to God. Pray for the strength and courage to give all of your life to God. Continue to seek Him and follow Him each and every day.
“And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, ...