It’s Located in the Hearts of All Mankind
“And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
If we go out shopping and lose something of value; we return to the place we believe we have lost it and search for it. And when we find the lost item we rejoice. Well, due to what was lost by Adam and Eve in the Garden; we are the lost something of great value, and the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, seeks us out in order that we may be found. When we do come to the Lord His Word says that there is rejoicing in Heaven (Luke 15:7). The Lord, by way of the Holy Spirit, looks at the heart. When the Word of God speaks of the heart it is not speaking of our physical organ but of our soul and spirit – our inner being. The Holy Spirit draws us and convicts us of our lostness looking for a heart response from us towards Him.
“…For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b).
Men look on the externals while the Lord looks upon our hearts. When the Gospel is heard: How will we respond? It was said of David that he was a man after God’s own heart. He made some serious mistakes in his life, but he was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and when he did err sought forgiveness and sought the Lord’s will. What would the Lord say regarding us? Are our hearts seeking the Lord and His Righteousness? Has Heaven rejoiced because we have been found? As the following verse tells us there is a way that seems right, but it is not the way of the Lord:
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 16:25)
Many today, if they do seek the Lord, believe that we must live good lives and the good in our lives must outway the bad to be acceptable to the Lord. While living good lives is certainly the way we should live, that alone will not gain us a relationship with the Lord nor will it result in our going to Heaven. There is only one way to know the Lord in Salvation, knowing that we have passed from death (lost) to life (found). We are to acknowledge the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit, repent of the way we have been going, and with our hearts believe in the salvation the Lord has provided. The following verse says it well:
“That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Our Salvation is completely of the Lord, and it is by faith. We come by faith just as we are and the Lord accepts us. The following verse tells us that when we believe in the Lord Jesus and his sacrificial death on the Cross the Lord imputes to us His Righteousness.
“For with the heart man believes unto Righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation” (Romans 10:10).
We are to trust in the Lord, not ourselves. We were “lost” and unable to save ourselves. The Lord loved us and showed His mercy and Grace towards us by becoming a Man, the God/Man, and dying on the Cross so that we might be “found.” Our search for the Lord ends at the Cross. Our Great Shepherd calls out to us with the following:
“Come unto me (Jesus) all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus is speaking here of the Salvation and rest that comes only through faith in Him and His sacrificial death at Calvary. We trust in the Lord with our whole heart and he saves us and leads us. We were lost, but God considered us of great value and pursued us giving His life as a ransom for our souls. What an amazing Grace that the lover of our soul has provided. Our hearts cry out in thanksgiving to the Living God. As John Newton’s beloved hymn “Amazing Grace” proclaims: I once was lost, but now I’m found!
Amazing Grace
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
Composed by John Newton in 1772
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
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