Love…
Seek…
Trust…
…With all your heart.
There are many scripture passages in the Bible containing the phrase “with all your heart.”
Some of the better-known and frequently quoted verses are Proverbs 3:5 and Deuteronomy 6:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5, NIV)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5, NIV)
Following are a few more of my favorites containing this phrase:
Blessed are they who keep his statues and seek him with all their heart. (Psalm 119:2, NIV)
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. (Psalm 119:9-10)
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13, ESV)
(emphasis added)
Sometimes when a phrase is so ubiquitous, we might have a tendency to skim over the words because they are so familiar to us. However, it is because these words are found in so many verses that I began to examine the phrase and consider its importance.
I began to wonder if I really know what “with all your heart” really means.
Other questions popped into my mind as I considered the phrase.
Do I love the Lord with all my heart?
Am I trusting him with all my heart?
Am I seeking him with all my heart?
According to my NIV study bible, in biblical language, the ‘heart’ is “the center of the human spirit, from which spring emotions, thought, motivations, courage, and action–the “wellspring of life.”
And the dictionary defines ‘all’ as “the whole quantity or extent of a particular group or thing– used to emphasize the greatest possible amount of a quantity.”
So in other words, we are to love, trust, and seek God with the entirety of our beings.
Wow.
I wonder how many of us can say that we actively, on purpose, live our lives in this way?
I want to, but… do I?
Do you?
So often we feel lost and adrift in the cares of this world, floundering in the ocean of life, wondering what God’s will is for us. We want a voice to drop from the heavens telling us what to do or which way to go. We throw out prayers of “Help me! Show me! Guide me!” and get discouraged when we can’t hear an answer, believing God is silent.
The truth is, God is always speaking and when we can’t hear him, perhaps we need to consider how fervently we are really seeking him.
Are we really seeking God with all our hearts? Do we love him with our whole being so that trusting him with all our hearts is as natural as breathing?
In day-to-day life filled with numerous responsibilities and commitments, exactly how are we to seek, love, and trust God with all our hearts?
- First of all, we need to carve out intentional time to spend reading the Word and praying– not just rote prayers and reading an encouraging verse here and there, but passionately pursuing and communicating with our Maker.
- We need to set aside quality time with God as our first and greatest priority. And then we need to guard this time fiercely. We will make time for what is truly important to us, so maybe we need to start by praying that this will become our top priority.
- Beyond that, we need to make a conscious effort to keep a running prayer dialogue going throughout our days. “Pray without ceasing” should become our way of life, praying in the spirit on every occasion. The more we practice talking with God through all our moments, offering up silent prayers and praise throughout our days, the more in tune our hearts will be with the Father. The more we pause to seek him in every area of our lives as they unfold, seeking, trusting, and loving God with all our hearts will become a lifestyle, not an event.
Loving God with our whole being does not just happen. Trusting God with all our hearts will not occur without effort.
Just as we spend time learning about our friends or our spouses to better understand and get to know them, so we need to intentionally cultivate our relationship with God.
When we feel lonely, upset, or need advice, instead of turning to social media or calling our mom or our best friend, let’s try turning first to God’s word and seeking him in prayer. Let him be the first to offer wisdom, to guide and comfort rather than the last resort.
The more we passionately pursue our King with every fiber of our beings, the more we acknowledge him with every breath, the more we surrender with absolute abandon all we are for his glory, the more we will learn the impact of those four words: with all your heart.
So friends, if you feel God is distant, or if you need direction and don’t seem to be getting it, I invite you to consider how thoroughly you are pursuing your relationship with your Maker.
Remember Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
He is there.
Truly seek him and you will find more power, peace, comfort, and joy than you could possibly imagine!
♥ Lindsey
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