One of the greatest invitations in all of Scripture is found in Jeremiah 29:13:
“If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.”
But what does it really mean to seek the Lord wholeheartedly?
Perhaps the answer is found in what Jesus called the most important commandment of all.
When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He answered:
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”
—Mark 12:30
This is more than simply one command among many. Jesus said this was the first and greatest commandment.
And perhaps this is the heart of what it means to truly seek God.
To seek the Lord with all your heart is to love Him with all that you are.
God does not simply want a small part of our lives. He does not want our leftover time, occasional attention, or half-hearted devotion.
He desires our whole heart.
Loving God With All Your Heart
The heart speaks of our deepest affections, desires, and devotion.
To seek the Lord with all our heart means that God becomes more than just a part of our lives. He becomes the One we love above all else.
David expressed this kind of desire when he wrote:
“The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His Temple.”
—Psalm 27:4
Notice those words: “the thing I seek most.”
David had many responsibilities. He was a king, a warrior, a leader, and a father. But above everything else, his greatest desire was to know and enjoy the presence of God.
Seeking God with all your heart means being able to say:
“Lord, You are not simply important to me. You are first.”
Loving God With All Your Soul
Our soul speaks of the very core of who we are—our life, our identity, and our deepest being.
To love God with all our soul means that our relationship with Him is not something we merely add to our lives.
It becomes the foundation of our lives.
We do not just follow Jesus on Sunday. We belong to Him every day.
Our identity is no longer found primarily in our accomplishments, possessions, position, or the opinions of others.
We belong to God.
Seeking the Lord with all our soul means saying:
“Lord, my life is Yours. My future is Yours. Everything I am belongs to You.”
This is wholehearted surrender.
Loving God With All Your Mind
Loving God is not merely an emotional experience.
God wants our minds as well as our hearts.
To seek the Lord with all our minds means that we intentionally fill our thoughts with His truth. We open His Word. We meditate on Scripture. We learn His ways. We allow His truth to challenge our thinking and shape our decisions.
The world is constantly trying to capture our attention.
There are endless voices competing for our minds.
But those who seek the Lord learn to ask:
What does God say?
His Word becomes our guide. His wisdom shapes our choices. His truth helps us see life from an eternal perspective.
Seeking God with all our minds means loving Him enough to allow Him to change the way we think.
Loving God With All Your Strength
Loving God with all our strength means loving Him not only with our words, but with our actions.
Our love for God should affect the way we live.
It affects how we treat people.
It affects how we spend our time.
It affects our priorities, our decisions, our attitudes, our finances, and the way we use the gifts God has given us.
Jesus made it clear that loving Him involves obedience.
Love is not simply something we feel.
Love is something we live.
To seek God with all our strength means that we actively pursue a life that honours Him.
It means serving Him even when it is inconvenient.
It means obeying Him even when obedience requires sacrifice.
It means continuing to follow Him when the path becomes difficult.
Seeking God Means Loving God for Who He Is
There is another important part of seeking the Lord.
Sometimes we seek God primarily because of what we want Him to do for us.
We need direction.
We need provision.
We need healing.
We need help with a difficult situation.
And God invites us to bring every need to Him.
But the highest form of seeking God is not simply seeking His hand.
It is seeking His heart.
It is coming to God and saying:
“Lord, more than anything You can give me, I want to know You.”
The greatest reward of seeking God is not simply receiving an answer to prayer.
The greatest reward is finding God Himself.
What Competes for Our Love?
This is where the command to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength becomes very personal.
If God is to have all of our hearts, then we must honestly ask:
What is competing for my love?
What has captured my heart?
What occupies my thoughts?
What receives the best of my time and energy?
What am I pursuing more passionately than I am pursuing God?
These are not always easy questions.
Sometimes good things can become distractions when they take the place that belongs to God.
Jesus did not tell us simply to love God.
He told us to love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.
That kind of love leaves no area of life untouched.
A Lifelong Pursuit
Seeking God is not something we do once.
It is a lifelong pursuit.
The apostle Paul had already experienced Christ in remarkable ways, yet he still wrote:
“I want to know Christ.”
—Philippians 3:10
Paul was not satisfied with yesterday’s experience of God.
He wanted to know Him more.
That should be the desire of every follower of Jesus.
No matter how long we have walked with God, there is always more to discover.
We can love Him more deeply.
Trust Him more completely.
Know Him more intimately.
Follow Him more faithfully.
The Psalmist wrote:
“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!”
—Psalm 105:4
The Greatest Commandment—and the Greatest Pursuit
Perhaps seeking the Lord with all your heart can be summed up in one simple thought:
Seek Him because you love Him.
Not just because you need something.
Not just because you want an answer.
Not just because you are facing a crisis.
Seek Him because He is worthy of your love.
Love Him with your heart—with your deepest affections.
Love Him with your soul—with your entire life.
Love Him with your mind—allowing His truth to shape your thoughts.
Love Him with your strength—serving and obeying Him with your actions.
And as you do, take hold of this wonderful promise:
“If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.”
—Jeremiah 29:13
What an invitation!
The God who commands us to love Him with all that we are also invites us to seek Him—and promises that those who seek Him wholeheartedly will find Him.
So perhaps the question for each of us today is not simply:
“Do I believe in God?”
Or even:
“Do I go to church?”
The deeper question is:
“Am I loving the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength?”
May that become the great pursuit of our lives.
To know Him.
To love Him.
To seek Him.
With all that we are.
