What have you been searching for?

"Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. 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."~Jeremiah29:12-13(Amplified)

"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."~Jeremiah29:12-13(NIV)


Have you ever lost something and could not rest until you found it? Well put yourself in the position of never having had something, but desiring above all else to obtain it. For instance say you never felt love, and you wanted to obtain love. Or say you never felt abundant joy, and you desired to obtain that joy. At what lengths would you go to obtain those things that you desire? We have to ask ourself just what are we willing to do to have a thriving relationship with the Lord! It is going to take some seeking. I mean some searching, but it is oh so worth it!

I love that the scripture says you will call and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Isn't it amazing to know that the words that we speak to the Father are not in vain. He hears every word. He sees every tear. But oh it does not stop there, the scripture tells us that we will seek for Him and find Him when we seek with our whole heart! Our whole heart, my friend. That means we can't just think we are going to give a half hearted effort and be in the presence of God! It is going to cost you something. It is going to take a sacrifice! It is going to take an act of obedience! It is going to take all of you, my friend.

If you are at a place where you need more love, more hope, more joy, more peace, more of an abundant life it is time to seek God more! It is time to really lay aside your pride and your preconceived notions of how you will hear from God. It is time to allow God to reveal Himself to you. This can only happen when you earnestly and diligently seek Him. You can have more love! You can have more joy! You can have more peace! You can have an abundant life! Do you know how? By seeking God above all else! In order to have more of these attributes you have to have more of God!

Don't allow another day, another minute, another second to go by without you dwelling in the presence of the Most high! It is time to not just know who God is! It is time to have a relationship with the King of Kings! It is time to know without a shadow of a doubt that when you pray that God hears your prayers! It is time to know, that you know, that you know, that when you seek for God that you shall find Him! It is time, my friend! Seek God above all else and you shall find Him! He is waiting! What have you been searching for?

Don't allow what you see to determine your praise!

Some say it is hard to praise God in the midst of a storm. I disagree! I believe that your best praise comes forth from the midst of your storm! Your loudest hallelujah and strongest yes, Lord comes out of your darkest hour! My friend, one thing I know for sure is that the God that we serve will never leave us nor forsake us! "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."~Deuteronomy31:6 ”Now that right there, is enough to tilt your head back and give God a shout of praise! The scripture does not just let us know that God will never leave us nor forsake us! The scripture lets us know that we are to not be afraid! No matter what it looks like! We are to not be terrified! No matter how dark it may seem! We are to be reminded that the God we serve goes with us! What a promise from God! To know that we know that we know that God will never leave us nor forsake us! 

Have you ever watched a sports game and you just could not help but root for the under dog? You just had hope and confidence that even though they were not the ones that the commentators picked to win that they were going to walk away victorious! You need to be reminded today that even though the odds are stacked against you, that because you serve a God that can do all things but fail you have the victory! I need to remind you that we DO NOT go by what we see! We serve a God that is eternal! We do not focus our attention on the temporary! We focus our attention on God! Yes, trails are going to come! Yes, you may want to throw in the towel! Don't do it my friend! You know what makes us root for the under dog? We root for the under dog because of their heart! When your heart is right it does not matter what is stacked against you! Our God looks at our hearts! "But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”~1Samuel 16:7

A lot of times we try to figure everything out! We have to get to a place that we understand we do not have to figure everything out! We are not going to figure everything out! We have to fully understand Isaiah 55:9! "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." What peace there is in knowing that God is not looking at the situation the way we are looking at it! What confidence we should have in knowing that when we are trying to figure something out God is truly already working it out! When you feel yourself getting to a place where you want to know everything, remind yourself that you do not need to know everything! Rejoice in the fact that your serve a Loving Daddy that knows EVERYTHING. 

Make up in your mind that this temporary set back will not keep you back! Make up in your mind that this temporary upset will not determine your praise! Praise God in the midst of the trail! Praise God because He is worthy to be praised on your good days, on your bad days, and on each and everyday that you have breath in your body! Don't allow what you see to determine your praise! We serve a God who can do all things but fail! So my dear friend, put your trust in the one who is able to make your way straight! Put your trust in the one who is able to calm your fears! Put your trust in the one who is able to cause your enemies to slip and be destroyed! You my friend, are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus! Remain anchored in Him and even when the winds and the storms rage you will not be greatly moved! Again I say, don't allow what you see to determine your praise!