When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.
—Jeremiah 29:13
Do we ever grow tired of searching? We search for the perfect body, the ideal lover, the best school, the most exciting career, the long-awaited dream house. In our minds, we believe it is out there somewhere—perhaps, just around the corner.
Coupled with our enthusiastic energy to seek out our dreams, we feel an equally strong anxiety that we will not find that school, that lover, that job, that house. Perhaps that's part of why we search so tirelessly for what we think will finally bring us happiness. We go round and round, seeking perfection until we give up in frustration. Then, after we've regained our energy, we’re back looking again!
When we think we are lost in the world or when we are going through a period when we cannot detect God’s presence in our lives, this, too, starts us searching. Our souls long to be filled,and our longing drives us forward. Sometimes we search for God’s presence with persistence and perseverance.
At other times, we simply say a few prayers and hope that it will suddenly appear. We may worry that God will not be found, or won't give us what we seek. Yet, the promise of heaven is clear— whenever we search for God, God will be there.
The truth is that our spirit is already with God. When we search, surprisingly, what we find is our spirit— we find our own selves. In the search for God,we uncover the reality of our own lives. There is hardly a search more important than this.
Gracious God, enable my heart to immerse itself in the search for your love, and in so doing find the completeness of your surrounding grace.
Copyright ©2009 Cleophes Carter, Jr.
