Verse of the Day - Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ~ Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have an old Easter egg story that runs in our family about my older sisters when they were little, one being about year-and-a-half younger than the other. While my oldest sister ran around finding all the eggs, the younger sister ran right behind her, crying that she couldn't find any. Ya think? :-) I'm sure you all have your own funny Easter egg stories, too!

How many times do kids just look on the surface for those pretty-colored treasures at Easter? They often don't dig deep AT ALL! It's like they want them handed to them on a silver platter. Hmm . . . is that how people are with God?

God says if we are serious about finding Him, we will find Him. But so many just aren't serious. They "dabble" in God. They might read a Christian book if it ends up on the best-seller list . . . they might go to church once in a great while -- you know, weddings or funerals . . . they try to read the Bible but it gets boring fast . . . they pray maybe if they end up on the side of the road with a flat tire. Lots of dabbling, no searching.

But look at the archaeologist. Now there's a searcher for you! He painstakingly digs and digs and digs for the antiquities of the past. Or the deep-sea divers on the ocean floor who search for treasure amidst sunken ships. They use every ounce of technology they have available and with all the energy they have to find buried treasure! And God, Who is the treasure beyond all treasure, is worth more than all the earthly treasure we could ever uncover! But He's not interested in dabblers. He wants searchers.

And here's the reason. See, He wants our whole heart -- not just part of it. He wants "all in", not just "part in". Why? Because finding God and taking Him for yourself is a commitment. A long and deep commitment. So, people who are in 100% won't turn back when the going gets rough. But the dabblers will probably turn tail and run at the first sign of difficulty.

So, God makes the choice to make Himself somewhat hidden. Those who are truly interested in finding Him will find Him -- those who aren't, won't.

So, are you a dabbler, or a searcher? If you are ready to take the challenge to find God and know Him on a personal level, start digging. Ask God to open your spiritual eyes to His truth and start reading His word, the Bible. As the deep-sea diver heads into murky waters, believing he will find treasure, so you must dive into the word of God that sometimes seems difficult to grasp, believing that God will reveal Himself. If you are serious, He'll be serious with you.

And if you're a dabbler, my question would be: Why? Why is God just an accessory to you, instead of someone essential to your life? That's a serious question that needs answering. All I can say to you is that, although you don't think you need Him, you absolutely do. And one of these days, that reality will become very, very clear to you. So I challenge the dabblers to take a second and third and fourth look at their lives and see if they can't see the hand of God, working on their behalf. See yourself as you really are -- in great need of God's mercy and forgiveness. See God as He really is -- ready and able to extend that mercy and forgiveness.

I pray that even those who know God on a personal level will rethink their searching of Him. Has the search gone cold? Do you just look for God on the surface, not taking the time to be in serious prayer and Bible study? Do you just give Him a surface look and say, "I can't find any eggs...."? God says, Be serious about Me! I'm not an Easter egg you can take or leave -- I'm buried treasure that will change your life! Don't treat me casually, please. I didn't treat you casually when I sacrificed my Son for you on the cross...

Serious stuff, my friends.

Be a digger, not a dabbler where God is concerned. I know that if you search for Him, you won't come up empty-handed.

Love,
Joelene