The Path Back to God

In review of Jeremiah 29:13 it says, “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”

Bottom Line:

When you get serious about finding God, wanting it wholeheartedly, you will find Him and not be disappointed.

What this means to me:

In order to find Him, I must be serious about it, wanting it more than anything else. When I do, he promised to reveal himself.

There will be times when I really don’t feel God’s presence in my life. When this happens, there are a few things I need to do to get back to God.

1. Get fed up with the way life is going (decide its time to change). Nothing is going to happen in my life until I get dissatisfied with the way I am, until I can say, “I don’t like this. I’m tired of being stressed out all the time. I’m tired of being frustrated all the time. I’m tired of being overworked all the time. I’m tired of feeling distant from God.”

But why does God let me get to this point? Because he loves me just the way I am, but he loves me too much to let you stay that way. He will not let me waste my life. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed” (MSG).

2. Own up to my sin. Isaiah 59:2 says, “The trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of sin he has turned his face away from you” (TLB). Feeling like God is a million miles away or like there was this veil between us, comes from my sins, which have separated me from God. But if I’m feel far from God, guess who moved? God is always there. He loves me unconditionally, and he’s waiting for me to own up to my sin so I can have a right relationship with him again.

3. Offer up myself. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (NCV). True transformation happens when my heart moves from self-centeredness to God centeredness. That kind of transformation doesn't happen overnight. God is going to work on me for my entire life. But there is a decision that starts the process.

Paul tells me in Romans, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1a NIV).

In summary, when I feel this happening, I need to make the decision to do things differently, own up to any of my wrongdoing and lastly to offer up myself and my life to His goals and interests.