“Seeking God With All My Heart”
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Marleny writes:
This is one of my all time favorite verses. This is one of those gems that sort of hopped into my lap when I opened up my Bible one day - and it spoke to me as if it was straight from the mouth of God.
I was feeling far from the Lord and going through some tough times, and God showed me that I was far from Him because I was not seeking Him wholeheartedly and passionately. He told me that if I seek Him with all of my heart I will find Him because that is a PROMISE found in His Word. It is a GUARANTEE.
The condition is “with all of your heart,” with your whole being, with everything inside you, seek God and He will reveal Himself to you.
From this verse I started looking up where in the Bible it says “with all your heart,” and I was amazed at how many times it came up. I love Deuteronomy 30, and it comes up again in Psalm 119.
God doesn’t want us doing anything for Him halfway - He wants us to be passionate about praising Him and passionate about seeking Him, passionate about prayer.
Please note that the views expressed in this story are not necessarily the views of the American Bible Society. Story posted on February 6th, 2008 and filed under Bible, Hope, Your Stories, Verses, Life Verse, Struggles, Most Popular Stories.
February 6th, 2008 at 9:03 am
What a great testimony Marleny! It’s great to see how God reveals Himself through His word at some of the most unexpected times. Psalm 119 is such a great chapter in this book… God’s love just bursts right through it. Thank you for sharing!
February 6th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Marleny, I can definitely feel your passion, your “heart.” I’m inspired!
I love the verses you mentioned. There’s so much depth and truth and grit and beauty and mystery in God’s invitation: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Thanks, Marleny!
February 6th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Dear Marleny:
Cautious as I am not to use the word “GUARANTEE” as a rule resulted from negative experiences of betrayal even by the so-called best friends, I have no hesitation whatsoever here to repeat your affirmation that “if I seek Him with all of my heart I will find Him….It is a GUARANTEE.”
Before I start my day, I remind myself: “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND” (Matthew 22:37); and “Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33).
I, truly, in times of need, emotionally and otherwise, never fail to experience Jesus’ “PROMISE”: “…Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:7).
Thank you, and
GOD Bless you, always and forvermore!
Mary Sun.
February 20th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Hi Marleny, Yes, I found it to be true that God loves to reveal Himself to the serious seeker. I dabbled in Christianity for years, never having much depth. I loved God, I was saved, but I was afraid, I think, to give Him all of myself. I was too worldly to dig into His Word and find out what He wants from me-or really, Who He is. This is most likely due to disappointments from people who never were what I thought they should be. They definitely weren’t what I needed.
When we lose trust in people that we can see, it seems like we tend to trust God, whom we can’t see, even less. At least that’s how it was in my case. His gentle, persistent love kept me in His Word, journaling His work, until my spirit finally accepted His Word applied even to me. Now, I can see others as He sees them, too. Not as people to live up to my expectations (whatever they may be at the moment), but as someone that Jesus gave His life for as He did for me.
May He bless you and keep you always.