Finding My Way

Upon occasion I have been to a large office facility and just inside the door is a map of the building with locations for all the office and names of the each person, in each office. Also on the map is a big star with the words “You Are Here.” I know, at least for me, I can study that map intently, and even though the star is indicating to me where I am, I am still not confident that I know exactly where I am or even where I need to be. Sometimes my spiritual life can feel the same way. At times it can be so hard to know God's will for my life that and it can be confusing, so confusing that I am not exactly sure, where I am or where God is calling me to go! In the book of Jeremiah the prophet is given directions for the people of Judah to follow. Jeremiah sent a letter recording a message from God to the elders in exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. In that letter, God foretells that the people of Judah would one day return to Him.

Jeremiah 29: 10-11 ESV For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God promises to return his people to their land after the captivity. He will hear their prayers for their return. So my difficult question to you is this, is it necessary to plead with God to do what he has already promised to do? Shouldn't their prayers be that of thanksgiving to God as they wait for the expectant answer to God's divine promise? From a theological perspective, it is not necessary to plead God in an attempt to change God’s mind or force His hand, as His promises are already certain, they are unchanging. However, pleading with, or reminding God, of His promises is a vital spiritual practice meant to align your heart with His, build your faith, and demonstrate your trust in His character.

 Jeremiah 29: 12-14 ESV Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. 

While these prophecies and promises are specifically related to the people of Judah and Israel, the principle that God will draw near to those who draw near to Him is a universal truth... But we have to draw near to God on His own terms, with clean hands and purified hearts. Clean hands and a clean heart that only God can provide by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

James 4:8 ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

While Jeremiah’s letter recorded the words of God for the exiled people of Judah, readers today can benefit from recognizing that the same God who said, “You will find me when you seek me with all your heart,” has also told us that we can draw near to Him and He will draw near to us and that He will never leave or forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5 ESV Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”