Seeking God Wholeheartedly

Title: Seeking God – Elder Joseph Mbira
Scripture: Jeremiah 29:12–13
“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Introduction:

In this passage, God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and gave him a message for His people. After the Israelites were delivered from slavery and witnessed many great miracles, they eventually turned away from God’s instructions. They began to live in comfort, in homes they did not build, and forgot the God who rescued them.

Jeremiah warned them, but they ignored him. God desires obedience from His creation. He made each of us with a purpose, and when we stray from that purpose, it displeases Him.

To remind His people that He is God, He allowed King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to take them into captivity. In exile, they faced many hardships:

1. Loss of freedom – They were forced to entertain their captors and asked, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”
2. Suffering – Some, like Daniel, remained faithful to God, refusing to bow to the king and continued in prayer. Others lived in sorrow.

Even during this time, God gave them a promise through Jeremiah:
“You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

1. Seek God with Your Whole Heart
   • Genuine seeking must be wholehearted. It means obeying His Word, accepting Jesus as Savior, and maintaining a relationship with Him.
   • God reveals Himself when we search for Him sincerely and fully commit ourselves.
   • Be aware of sin – Sin creates distance between us and God. If we’re living in sin, it becomes hard to truly connect with Him, even when we’re trying to seek Him.
2. Choose Your Friends Wisely (Psalm 1:1)
   • “Blessed is the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked…”
   • The people we surround ourselves with influence our spiritual walk.
3. Focusing on Your Situation
   • Just like the Israelites in Babylon, God sometimes uses difficult seasons to draw us closer to Him.
4. Have Faith
   • Faith in Christ opens the door for God to hear and respond to our prayers. We were created to worship and serve Him, and when we live in faith and purpose, He answers us.
5. Seeking God in the Wrong Places
   • Not every church or sign is from God. There are many places claiming to represent Him, but not all are true. God can be found wherever His Word is preached faithfully.
   • Let us not be misled by signs and miracles alone — instead, let’s be spiritually discerning.

Final Thought:

Where are you seeking God?

In His word/ Where God’s true word is being preached.