Daily Devotional for November 10, 2015
Jeremiah 29
Scripture:
10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 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. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Observation:
I don’t think I can write a devotional on Jeremiah 29 without being drawn to one of the most memorized verses in Scripture (verse 11). This, once again, is proof that God wants to have a relationship with us and bless us.
But my focus will not be on verse 11. Instead, today’s challenge is found in verse 13. Here’s the question: Do you want to experience God when you search for Him? Your experience with God is directly related to the amount of desire you have for Him. This verse tells us that when we seek the Lord with all of our hearts we will find Him.
It seems difficult to quantify the phrase all your heart. Here’s how the Lord helped me understand. One Saturday night, I was going over my sermon for Sunday morning. I was reviewing my points and my illustrations in preparation for the message. But I noticed a documentary on TV about a basketball park in New York City. I was in intrigued by this story. As a basketball player, I became caught up in it. It wasn’t long before I wanted to go play basketball. It was late in the evening, but if I could have found a pick-up game, I would have been there. At that point, my emotions were involved and I had a strong urge to play basketball.
Realizing it was too late for a game, I walked back into the back room that we used for a study in our home. As soon as I walked in the door, the Lord spoke to me. He said, “That is how I want you to desire Me.” Wow! That message was loud and clear. When we seek the Lord with all of our heart, we will find Him.
Application:
- Personal Application: Our experience with God is directly related to the amount of desire we have for Him. To know God more, we must surrender more of our lives to Him.
- Family Devotional: Read this passage to your family. Encourage them to keep God first in their life. Remind them that God wants a relationship with us and when we seek Him with all of our hearts we will find Him. Pray for them.
Prayer:
- Personal Prayer Focus: Ask God to help you identify the meaning of seeking Him with all your heart. Pray for a deepening desire to know God and a hunger for His Word.
- Family Prayer Focus: Pray that your family will always have a desire to know God and a hunger to study Scripture.
Three Year Reading Plan for Sunday, November 8 – Sunday, November 15:
- Sunday, November 8: Jeremiah 27
- Monday, November 9: Jeremiah 28
- Tuesday, November 10: Jeremiah 29
- Wednesday, November 11: Jeremiah 30
- Thursday, November 12: Jeremiah 31
- Friday, November 13: Jeremiah 32
- Saturday, November 14: Jeremiah 33
- Sunday, November 15: Jeremiah 34
—TOM GROOT is National Director of Men’s Ministry and Christian Education. Connect with Tom on Facebook or Twitter @TomGrootJr.
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