Seek and Find

Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. 1 Chronicles 22:19 NIV

“Ready or not here I come!” Faith yodeled in her walkie-talkie. I crouched low behind the pantry door in the dark, the smell of stale crackers, cookies, and bread settled over me. I turned the volume down low on my communicator lest she hear it through the door.

After searching the bedrooms upstairs, she called to me again, “Mommy, what room are you in? Just tell me, so I can find you.” I giggled and depressed the side of my walkie-talkie as I whispered, “I’m not upstairs.” I listened through the door as little feet padded down the stairs; all the while, she was talking. Her mouth pressed close to the speaker, she muffled, “I know where you are, and I’m coming to find you.”

My heart raced, and I pressed myself back further into the shelves. Little bare feet stopped on the floor nearby. The doorknob slowly turned and – “ AAAAAHHHH! I found you!” Faith squealed. We collapsed on the floor in laughter as I grabbed her four-year-old body and squeezed it tight.

Faith loves to play hide-n-seek, but sometimes she gets tired of looking and just wants to find me.

I understand. Sometimes I get tired of searching, too. For years, I searched for God’s will. “What do you want me to do, Lord? What are the plans you have for me?” But He seemed to be silent. I continued living “the Christian life” all the while wondering about His ultimate plan. No matter how much I hunted, I just couldn’t find it.

Somewhere along the way, I gave up and grew stale. God had a plan –For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) But He wasn’t sharing it with me.

Until one day I was reading that verse in Jeremiah and kept reading.

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 when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV)

I was looking for the wrong thing. In my quest for God’s plan, I overlooked God. God asks us to call and pray to Him, to seek Him – not His plan. I realized that my search for His plan was really all about me. I wanted to know what I was going to be doing in the future. Seeking God is all about Him – wanting a relationship and fellowship with Him.

I began my search for our Lord – searching through rooms and up and down the stairs. But I didn’t have to search long. He is true to his Word – I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. (Proverbs 8:17 NIV) “ AAAAAHHHH! I found you!” I squealed. And when He met me there, He spoke to me about His plan for my life.

Have you been searching for God’s plan for your life or have you been searching for God? Set aside some time today to play Seek and Find with your Heavenly Father. I think I’ll do the same. “Ready or not, Lord, here I come!”

Visit Carol at sheep to the right!