The Path To Finding God

The Path To Finding God
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)

This verse is both a promise and an offer. It comes in the light of God sending the Jewish people into captivity for 70 years. This is God's offer once His people have returned to God in repentance.

They have a long time to prepare their hearts for change, after God judged them for taking on foreign gods and heathen practices, "sleeping with the enemy" and disobeying God.

Finding God is a two-way street. Jesus told several stories of our lost condition and God's response.

Jesus told the parables of a shepherd losing a sheep and a woman losing a coin. In all of these Jesus shows that He takes the initiative to find the lost "one". In John 3:16, God takes the initiative to save the world from condemnation: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life".

Ultimately, we must decide to seek God with all our heart and repentance is part of this. A confession of sin and a choice to start down a new road. A road with Jesus by your side and peace in your heart. And the destiny? The promise of an eternal new world!

The context and alternative translation
“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” GOD’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—GOD’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it. Jeremiah 29:13-14 MSG