From the verses above, do you realize God already has your future in His mind? And your future has to be of peace, and not of evil. No question about that. By the way, the word 'peace' here is 'shalowm' in Hebrew, and it can mean any of these: safe, happy, favorable, (good) health, prosperity, restful, whole, well. Awesome! But do you know that's just the first part?
Now, notice the word 'THEN' in this passage. It means the Lord wants to say further! To put it simply, He's saying, "Now that you know your future is assured, how do you begin walking in it?" The answer of course is found right after the first part, that is when you begin calling upon Him and seeking Him! You see, many people read only the first part (Jeremiah 29:11), but they forget to read the later parts of this whole passage!
The Lord spoke these words recently:
"Seek Me, and I will be found by you! Call upon Me, and I will clear the way for you! Do not look to the left or right, for all your answers this year are found in Me!"What does it mean by 'seeking the Lord'? It is to look to Him, draw near to Him, and consult Him. In fact, it is an ongoing lifestyle of those who know Him, love Him, and desire to follow Him.
Yes, you read it correctly. It should be ongoing, and not just when one is in trouble or have a pressing need. One example of such person who walked in this lifestyle is David, whom the Bible calls 'a man after God's own heart' (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). Here's a man who had learned to know God's heart, walk with God, and talk with God as his lifestyle! By the way, what is a 'lifestyle'? It simply means 'the way in which a person lives'.
David has always been a seeker of God, and this has been his lifestyle since the days of his youth. Some people see a 'seeker of God' as someone 'who do not know God, but is open to know God'. But that's not what we are talking about here. In Jeremiah 29:13, this word 'seek' is 'baqash' in Hebrew, and it actually means 'to pursue (God)'. It is like when you are hotly 'pursuing' someone, you (already) know who that someone is, and you won't want to lose sight of that someone! In fact, you'll do whatever it takes to follow (or chase after) that someone! And that was exactly how David pursued God!
And because this has been David's lifestyle all along, when challenges came, he knew who to turn to. He did not turn to the left or to the right. He did not seek a fortune teller or a medium, which king Saul actually did upon seeing the army of the Philistines coming against him (1 Samuel 28:7). In contrast, when David was faced with one of the toughest times in his life (when his town Ziklag was invaded and burned, his wives being taken captives, and his own people wanting to stone him), he did not turn to the left or to the right. He turned to God and sought God (1 Samuel 30:8). The Lord God then gave him instruction to attack the enemy, and in turn, he recovered all that the enemy had taken away! (1 Samuel 30:18-19)
Not long after that, when king Saul had died, and after a period of mourning, again David sought the Lord his God, and this time, as to where to go (2 Samuel 2:1). The Lord said to go to Hebron, and there, at the right place and right time, he was anointed king over Judah! (2 Samuel 2:4) After a long war between Israel and Judah (yet the house of David grew stronger and stronger), the elders of Israel finally came to David to meet him at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them, and there he was anointed king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-3) And that's how he eventually became king over all Israel and Judah. See? God's plans for David were unfolding more and more, every step of the way!
So, what was the secret of David walking into greater and greater things? The answer is easy. Because David lived a lifestyle of seeking God. You see, not only did he find God's heart, he also found all of God's answers for him, as to 'what to do', 'where to go', and 'how to go about', every step of the way. The Scripture says 'David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him' (2 Samuel 5:10). Hallelujah!
People of God, may you also see God's plans for your life unfolding more and more this year, and greater works shall you do for His glory, as you begin living a lifestyle of seeking God. Amen!
