How do we Find God?

On the first night of the Muar trip, Pastor Seng Lee brought us through this session after we settled in to the prayer house. It was a very fitting session, as it was something that needed to be addressed as our entire group went up to seek God.

What does the bible say about seeking God? Proverbs 8:17 says:

"I love everyone who loves me, and I will be found by all who honestly search." (Contemporary English Version)

"I love those who love me; those who look for me find me." (Message Bible)

"I love those who love me; and those who seek me early shall find me." (Modern King James Version)

We can see from this verse that if we want to find God, we will have to seek Him honestly, wholeheartedly and early. The MKJV uses the word 'early'. Now what does this word mean? Besides the literal meaning, throughout the bible, the early morning has always been set aside for prayer or rather conversation with God.
My take on this is that it shows that we have to put in effort to seek God, and when we do that with the right heart, we shall find God.

But, let us not forget the preceding sentence, "I love those who love me;". So what then can we learn from this? Why do you think this line was written BEFORE the part about seeking?
In a nutshell,

The Condition to Find God: LOVE God

That is the key to finding God! Love Him with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind! You WILL find Him when you seek!

Jeremiah 29:11-13, 14a (MSG bible):

I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. "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."

When Pastor Seng Lee quoted this passage for us, he mainly used Jeremiah 29:11-13 but I added in the start of verse 14 as well since I am using the Message Bible as I think it explains it very clearly.

This passage shows us a promise that was promised to us. Can we claim this promise?

Of course we can! Seek and you will find!

This passage has been very commonly quoted, especially verse 11. But we tend not to look at the later part of the verse. We have to realize the most imporant line:

And you shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Vs. 13; MKJV)

"Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." (Vs. 13, 14a; MSG)

Now then, let's take a look at our own lives. Do we want to get serious about finding God? Do we want to find Him more than anything else? Let's take some time to check our hearts now. I'd just like to end off with a simple "equation".

Love God + Seek God = Find God

(Love and seek God with all your heart, and you will find Him)

No love for God? = No find God

Know love for God? = Know what it means to find God