Something Brief, Something True: When we seek Him, we will find Him

"But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him." - Deuteronomy 4:29 NLT

In a letter to the Israelites exiled in Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah encouraged them with a reminder of something the Lord had said: if they looked for Him while there, they would find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).

As I read through Deuteronomy recently, I realized that 4:29 says almost the same words. The context showed me that Moses foretold a time when the Lord would scatter his disobedient people among the nations, and in a foreign land they would worship idols. Moses also prophesied that when they were suffering in captivity they would search again for the Lord and finally return to him.

The Lord does not make himself hard to find. Even in the judgment of his beloved people Israel, mercy remained available. The final words of this section give me great peace, as I hope they do you: "For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors" (v.31).

This short piece was written in response to a writing challenge posed by Jacob R Crouch.