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November 17, 2016 |
“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.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)
I’m asked lots of questions when I meet people at conferences.
Practical questions …
“How did you get started speaking and writing?”
Heart-wrenching questions …
“How did you forgive those who hurt you so much?”
Hard questions …
“Why would God let this happen?”
Honest questions …
“How can I find God, and connect with Him in the midst of my everyday life?”
It’s that last question that compels me to do what I do every day. It’s what brings me to sit at the computer and tangle with words and truths and vulnerable admissions. It’s what compels me to split my heart wide open and let people see the not-so-great stuff about me, mixed with the gracious goodness of God.
Because if I can help a soul find an authentic, honest way to connect with God, all the other questions will settle down a bit. Wait more patiently. Maybe decide it’s okay if they go unanswered.
Connection with God is such a deeply personal and uniquely individual process. Surely it can’t be reduced to three points and a poem. But there are two words that stir me. Move me. Show me. Propel me. Two words I hear Jesus saying over and over: “’Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19a, HCSB).
Tucked within these two words, three syllables, 8 letters is the wild secret of a deep connection with God.
If we want to know God, we have to abide in Him.
How do we abide in Him?
Follow His instructions.
Follow His heart.
Follow His example.
Not just follow along as we mindlessly repeat the words of the Jesus songs and scribble some notes during the pastor’s sermon.
No.
Really follow. Follow hard. Follow passionately. Follow fully. Follow with engaged minds and willing hearts and open hands and ready feet.
And where can we start this kind of all-out following?
By asking God to let us see Him.
When we pray, we invite the divine presence of the Almighty God to do life with us that day. Watch for Him. Look for Him. Make the connection of things that happen as direct evidence of His hand at work.
In us. Around us. In spite of us.
Ask Him to help you see His activity as you seek to follow more fully. And He will.
Rest assured God isn’t trying to hide from us. He is waiting to be seen by us.
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13).
Father God, oh how my heart longs for an ever-deepening connection with You. Thank You that You aren’t hiding from me. Thank You that Your heart isn’t to frustrate me or confuse me. You respond to my seeking. You draw near to me when I draw near to You. Teach me what it means to follow hard after You. And open my eyes to see You as I’ve never seen You before. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Psalm 91:15, “He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” (NIV)
James 4:8a, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (NKJV)
RELATED RESOURCES:
If God is near, why are there times when He feels so far away? When God is seemingly silent in our situation, it can be downright heartbreaking. That's why we want to share a FREE resource from Lysa TerKeurst that will help you identify and tackle areas in your life that are affecting your ability to hear from God. Download your copy here today.
REFLECT AND RESPOND:
Part of abiding in God is choosing to actively follow His lead. After you spend some time in God’s Word today, ask Him to show you one step you can take to follow His instructions and His example in your everyday life.
Prayerfully ask God to help you see Him at work today. Watch for Him throughout your day and then take time to journal before you go to bed. Documenting God’s faithful presence in our lives is always a blessing!
© 2016 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved.
>Proverbs 31 Ministries
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