Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah was tasked by God with bringing messages of condemnation and destruction and also incredible and glorious hope. This verse brings to mind the Beatles song, My Sweet Lord. In a number of ways it’s a heartbreaking song, because they were looking for peace, satisfaction, and enlightenment in all the wrong places. I have wondered many times what would have happened if someone, almost anyone, had exercised the courage to express the Gospel to them in terms they could understand. Part of the problem was that, growing up in nominally Christian England, they associated the God of the Bible with all sorts of negative things and so were ripe picking for the lies of the devil. I can’t help but think what a difference it would have made if their phenomenal talent had been committed to the true Lord, and not to the fantasy they chased. There is no hope in Hinduism! The Creator of the universe wants to be found by His children, but we are so prone to be led around by our flesh and seek gratification for it, rather than seeking our Creator. As it so famously says in verse 11, God’s plans for us are good, but we’ve got to choose them rather than our own fantasies. It really does all come down to choices. Will we seek God, His kingdom and His righteousness, or will we seek the glitter of the world and our flesh? Every human being is faced with that choice, and some are given the opportunity to choose many times, but we never know when the last chance will be. Seeking God should be what is called a “no-brainer,” but the devil does all he can to turn off our brains, all the time telling us that is the way of wisdom!

I cannot overstate the blessing I received to be raised in a home of faith and obedience to God. I encounter many other Missionary Kids through Facebook, and some of them are like me and some have more or less completely given up on Christian faith. I have read some horrifying tales of things that were done by some missionaries, and just in recent years have learned of some that happened close to me, but that I was mercifully unaware of. We all walk different roads and none are completely straight and level, but the question isn’t what happens to us, but how we respond to it. I have learned the truth of this verse written by Jeremiah under God’s direction, and I seek to communicate it to all who will receive it. The tragedy is that so few do. However, I am never to give up, but keep speaking the truth in love, whether people seem to be listening or not.

Father, the challenges of ministering in Japan are immense, but truly nothing is impossible for You, and in Christ I can do everything You ask of me. Help me truly hold nothing back in seeking You and loving You, so that all of Your gracious plans for me may indeed be fulfilled, on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!