Whole Hearted Attention

Deut 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

What does it look like to do something with your whole heart?

Perhaps a more poignant question would be, what does it look like when we do something half-hearted?

When I do something half-hearted, only part of my heart is excited about the task at hand. Maybe I have something else I’d rather do, or maybe there is another task pressing for my attention. Sometimes our heart can be there but not our soul. Soul translates to mind and emotions. How often I find myself at the bottom of a page in the Bible and realize that though my eyes were moving back and forth, I was making a to-do list in my head. Whatever the case my focus is not in one place, and worse yet, my desires are divided. It reminds me of this commercial…

Does the man want to be on the date? How does this make his lady friend feel? What kind of reward will he receive for his pursual?

Often times, we expect great reward for seeking God as half-hearted as the guy in the commercial. We put in “our time”, but our heart is not in it.

Doing things whole heartedly takes discipline. In a world that constantly interrupts with notifications of various kinds, I’ve found that conversational etiquette has suffered. It is no longer considered rude for a grown person to be reading and responding to a text while in conversation of a real live person. (I am sheepishly grinning because I’m also guilty of this.)

Forcing all of yourself to be truly with someone is more difficult than ever in this electronic age, but we can not seek the Lord with our whole heart without this practiced discipline. May I challenge you to spend a few minutes today truly being with God? Turn off the tv, leave your cell phone in another room and force your mind to be stayed on Him. The reward is great for He promises that we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 in the Message says, “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”

Do you want Him more than anything else? Get serious about finding Him. You won’t be disappointed.

Here’s my prayer for you, it comes from Psalm 40 in the Message Bible:

But all who are hunting for you—
oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
but God, don’t put it off.

What seems to be your biggest distraction while seeking Him?

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….finding heaven with Jen: