Whole-Hearted Searching

In Jeremiah 29:13-14, it says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."

Seek, search with all your heart. And He will be found and he will rescue. Sometimes I have half-heartedly searched. Half-hearted prayers, or prayers and searching with my "fine print conditions". But in whole-hearted seeking Him, He will be found, and He will set free. A spirit set free can even be free in physical captivity. It is a miracle.

We recently watched the movie Prince Caspian with our kids. Luci continues to look for the lion King, Aslan, to come to their rescue. She continues to search when the others have given up, believe he has abandoned them, or even no longer believe he even exists. There is a conversation Luci has with her brother Peter after she has had a glimpse of Aslan.

Peter says, "Why wouldn't I have seen Aslan?"

Luci replies, "Because you weren't looking."

And then in a conversation with her older sister Susan, the elder asks the same question as her brother. To which Luci says, "Maybe you didn't want to."

C.S. Lewis chronicles a childrens story that reflects the true story of God's word. We could dismiss both as foolish children's stories. Or we could embrace His Word as truth, seek Him, and He would be found by us when we look for Him with our whole heart. "I will be found by you" shows that He allows Himself to be found, He reveals Himself, when He knows we are at last searching with our whole heart.

I have been Peter not looking. I have been Susan not wanting. And I have been Luci searching with childlike faith with my whole heart. And He has been found by me again and again. And it has been a homecoming-embracing taste of a home I have not yet fully known. Yet it feels like home~more delightful each time I search and He is found.

copyright 2009. Jodene (Jodi) Shaw