Jeremiah Twenty-Nine Eleven to Fourteen.

”Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

This part of the bible is sort of lost in a chapter which produces one of the most commonly used verses in Christianity. Jeremah 29:11 re-emphasises that our faith is based on a relationship with God.

In this chapter God is speaking to the people who have been taken captive by NEBUCHAHHIMDONE NEBROSKIBBA NEBUCHADNEZZAR; a king who doesn’t have the best record on scritta paper. 📖

I bet I’ll find your love… 

A lot of my time growing up as a debatable-light skinned guy resulted in me on my bed, playing Ne-Yo, Drake and Chris Brown. Wishing I could get back to the old times I never actually had because she didn’t exist. At best it was a crush.

This gave the DJ 🎧 in my head enough lines to use for any lucky lady I moved to  pursued in the future. Plus I’m Yoruba. So that makes me Mr Romantic sha.

There's definitely at least 2 girls who's faces have just squeezed
in disgust.

Jeremiah 29:11 tees up the next three verses,

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

I made plans for you, and I won't let them fall through IIIIIIIIIII

This verse is often used to promote prosperity, and we all love a good positive sermon, one that basically tells you exactly what you want to hear. There’s always a need to know the context behind the prosperity however.

I love to tailor verses to my own life, and if I’m meditating on a verse I want to live through it. But ah. Wait. I got to let it live through me. Becoming a vessel for God so that his glory is being shown through my life.

Before when I see this verse I’ve got my plans already set up, so then reading the verse would be used as a confirmation of what I’ve already decided I want to do. Not necessarily what he wants. The God of Israel (Houghton) is telling you that he is at the centre of it all. It’s about what he wants.

WhAt If I dOnT lIKe iT? 

God is basically saying here, you’re going to like it. For those who love watching wedding videos, you’re going to find your partner… providing it’s the one God wants for you.

And some may laugh at the idea that we would not want what God wants. But often we do. Jonah was one example of a believer who didn’t want what God was offering.

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. – Twelve

The importance of prayer is huge and it’s something that I’ve struggled on heavily. In the scripture God is telling us to GO and pray. 🙏🏾

Almost like an African mum demanding you to face your books, rather than facebook. To go somewhere you’ve got to leave where you are – i.e. the place that isn’t where God is present. 

‘If we don’t consistently fall on our face in prayer, we consistently fall into sin’

You will seek me, and find me when you seek me with all your heart. – Thirteen.

The word seek actually appears earlier in verse seven where it says that the people should ‘seek the peace’ for ‘in its peace, you will find peace’.

I’ve spoken to a lot of people like myself who have struggled with faith. We don’t see God. Maybe it’s time to pray and the keyboardist whips out the most beautiful music to get you into the zone 🎹. Still can’t find him.

The effort of just seeking alone is not enough, it says here in verse 13 that you will only find God when you seek with all your heart. With everything you’ve got. Whatever it takes.

*CUE THE AVENGERS THEME MUSIC*

I remember my Dad saying that when it comes to prayer it’s better if you say it out loud. I was someone that never did, whether in a collective setting or alone. My thoughts are volatile and because I prayed in my head, I ended up forgetting I was even praying.

“…In Jesus name we have prayed! Amen! Hallelujah!

I thought about what the Arsenal score was, or wondering about the ps3 game I was going to rinse when my parents weren’t at home. Puberty came and it was thoughts of lust, pretty women and sexual thoughts. Deeping that I’ve been in the friend-zone the whole time.

Because of this, the whole purpose of my prayer was lost. The iPhone charger of my prayer life came off and I hadn’t even noticed.

Now that isn’t the case for everyone. It it’s not the case every time I’ve prayed. But you can’t actively think and talk at the same time. 🤔 And that’s the same when talking to God.

To give everything to God, you’ve got to give everything away. Any burdens, thoughts, worries, non-spiritual knowledge. All of it. Your mind and your heart has to be focused solely on finding him. Don’t put him in a box and limit his reach on your life.

Haha, Pastor's son

It’s funny because once you do find him, you actually realise that you’ve gone from: ‘Lord, I can’t find you’ to ‘I can’t find anyone better’. 

Despite having individual relationships with each one of us, God sees you as so much more than an option. And he never forgets you. Even when you forget who you are.

I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. – Fourteen

Once you’ve found him he’ll adopt you into his Kingdom (Ephesians 1:5). He promises you great and mighty things which you don’t even know yet (Jeremiah 33:3). He will deliver you from your troubles as long as you honour him (Psalm 50:15). He will give you peace. A lasting peace the world can’t give you.

Ask God to fulfil Jeremiah 29 into your life today.