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I haven’t always had a desire to seek the Lord. Not that long ago, I would have chosen other things over God. I knew I should want to know Him, seek Him, spend time with Him; but, the ‘want-to’ was missing. One day, it dawned on me (aka Holy Spirit revelation) that the only One who could help me, could give me the ‘want-to,’ was Jesus himself. So, I prayed and asked Him to grant me the desire to seek and know.
It’s a prayer I still pray because we all get comfortable; we all settle for the mundane at some point.
When you begin to seek the Lord in this way, He changes you from within. Instead of choosing worldly, temporal replacements, I choose His lasting, eternal Word. Instead of following my carnal instinct of pulling away from others, I enter into community.
Several months ago I encountered a woman who was run down by life. Her daughter was in the hospital, she was pregnant with her second and she had just gotten out of an abusive relationship. She needed money for her daughter’s medicine, but more than that she needed hope.
I am not one who freely gives money to those who ask for it. I lean toward skepticism and distrust of others. But, God doesn’t ask us to judge the intentions of the heart. He simply asks us to obey.
When I met Denise, I felt so strongly that God wanted me to go to her, pray with her and give her money. I fought it...hard. I attempted to leave the parking lot three times, but couldn’t physically bring myself to ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit. Finally, I obeyed. I approached her. We talked. We prayed. We hugged. I gave her some money to help meet a physical need, but God didn’t call me to meet her monetary need in full; He called me to give her a message - “He sees you.”
The same message He had been lovingly whispering to my heart is the same message He had for me to speak to another.
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT)
God was softening my heart so that I would love what He loves, grieve for what He grieves, and do what He does.
I want to speak the same message to you.
He sees you. You are not forgotten, overlooked or undervalued. The God of the universe who lovingly fashioned and formed you longs for you to know Him too.
Ask Him for the ‘want-to.’ And, when you seek Him, He will be found by you and will begin to change your heart to reflect His.
"If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”” (Jeremiah 29:13-14 NLT)
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