Steve (my wonderful, handsome, loving, caring, dishes-doing-to-let-me-know-he-still-loves-me husband) and I set aside some Scripture verses as our own, when we decided to get married. Jeremiah 29:11-13 became our life verses and almost 19 years later, they still bring many beautiful memories to mind for me:
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 hope and a future. 12Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.
I'm sure many people hold the same verses near and dear to their hearts, but yesterday, as I read the Amplified Bible, I found some additional "meat" to satisfy my Spirit: Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me (as a vital necessity) and find me when you search for Me with all your heart (vs. 13).
As a vital necessity - I read over those words again and again and questioned myself. Was I really searching for God as my vital necessity or was I just merely searching for all the benefits that come from being His child - His joy, His peace, His will? I decided, it's not the benefits I want to know. It's Him. I really, really, REALLY want to know Him.
To do so, however, requires something - a searching. God doesn't just pop out of a bottle like a genie or follow us around like a puppy, waiting to be addressed. Nope. Instead, He says we have to search for Him - determinedly, thoughtfully, desperately - to find Him. After all, God is our VITAL NECESSITY...and our search for Him should exemplify that.
Let's imagine for a moment. If you were stranded on a desert island with no food or water, what would be the first thing you would look for? Silly question, right? I can almost - I said ALMOST - guarantee that you wouldn't look for a new pair of palm leaf shoes or the latest coconut hair handbag to take up space in your new closet - handwoven from vines! No, you'd look for the vital necessities for life - the things you need to live on a minute by minute basis. Nothing else would matter...not your checkbook, not your car, not cable TV...not even the fact that you had to climb up jagged peaks and cut your hands and feet to pieces to get to the only clean water source on the island. Nothing would matter to you, EXCEPT finding that vital necessity.
That's the way we are to search for God...as THE (word change, my own) Vital Necessity of life. Oh, and guess what? When we search for Him in this manner, He promises to be found. How cool is that!?!
Now, I'm not suggesting we all go out and seclude ourselves on an island, so we can focus completely and totally on finding God. That would be totally out of God's will, unless He specifically told you to do so...and I don't know of many people He's instructed to do that!
I am suggesting though, that we change our way of thinking about finding God. I'm saying we need to search for Him, not just at church on Sunday or Wednesday, but all the time - being constantly aware that He is our Vital Necessity, and we must find Him to find life. That means we must be in a spirit of prayer at all times. It means we must read His Word, as much as possible during the day and memorize as much of It as possible. Searching for God as our Vital Necessity means we must be in an attitude of anticipation throughout the day, so as not to miss what He does next. It means searching for Him around every corner of your life, as you would for clean water on a deserted island.
Scripture says, THEN we will find Him. We will find our Vital Necessity for life.
Now, let me ask you again, "How cool is that?!?"
Dear Jesus, we want to know You. We want to learn how to search for You as our Vital Necessity for life. Teach us, Lord to do so. Correct our eyes when we look away and our feet when we turn from Your direction. Thank You, Lord, that you promise that when we seek for You in this manner, You WILL be found. What a Treasure You are to us, Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You.
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