Jeremiah 29:13 - Homiletics

Seeking God with the whole heart.

I. GOD MUST BE FOUND BEFORE BE CAN BE KNOWN AND ENJOYED . "He is not far from each one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being." Yet this natural nearness of God may be unrecognized by us, and may not be sufficient to bring us into the spiritual communion with him. The God of nature may be "the unknown God," or he may be recognized and yet not enjoyed as the "Portion" of the soul.

1. Sin hides the vision of God, and drives the soul into remote spiritual banishment from God, even though it cannot affect his physical presence.

2. Our natural limitations of thought and experience surround the idea of the Divine with mystery, and make us feel that though God is partly known there are still ways of God that are far beyond our ken, so that we exclaim in bewilderment and distress, "Verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself!" ( Isaiah 45:15 ).

II. TO BE FOUND , GOD MUST BE SEARCHED FOR WITH THE WHOLE HEART .

1. He must be searched for . God does discover himself to men unexpectedly, as to Hagar in the desert and to Moses on Horeb, though we may rest assured that even such exceptional revelations were made to souls whose habit it was to seek after him. Nevertheless before such experience, God draws near to those who do not seek him, to urge them to search and find him ( Isaiah 65:1 ). He seeks us before we seek him. Our search is the response of our hearts to his invitation ( Psalms 27:8 ). But this search must be made. The promise of finding is attached to the condition of seeking ( Matthew 7:7 ). The prodigal must return to his father before he can receive the welcome home. Men are waiting for God to visit them, reveal himself to them, do something that will bring them back to him. They may wait forever, and in vain. God is waiting for us. It is our part to arise and seek him.

2. This search must be with all the heart . The reason why we are disappointed of the answers of our prayers is often that our prayers are so insincere, so cold, so half-hearted. It is reasonable to expect God, the all-seeing, to answer our prayers, not according to the vigor of the language, but according to the fervency of our desires. If we value the knowledge and communion of God aright, we shall seek him with all the heart:

III. THE REWARD OF SEEKING GOD WITH ALL THE HEART WILL CONSIST IN FINDING HIM .

1. The search will be successful . God may not be found at first, or, being found, may not be recognized in the way expected. But Scripture and experience both testify to the utility and fruitfulness of the soul's search after God. If we have not yet found, that may be because

2. The success of the search will be its own reward . The finding of God is described as a blessing of the restoration. It will bring other and lower benefits in its train ( Jeremiah 29:14 ), but it is itself the greatest boon. "Blessed are they that seek God with all the heart, for they shall find him,"—that is enough for a perfect beatitude. To find God is to find our light, our rest, our home. To know him is life eternal; to commune with him is the joy of heaven.