Deuteronomy 4:29 - Total Commitment Required to Find God.

Deu.4:29; Total Commitment Required to Find God.

Deu 4:29 (KJV)  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.

Deu 4:29 (NCV)  But even there you can look for the LORD your
God, and you will find him if you look for him with your whole
being.

CONTEXT

Moses Preaches to Israel on the Plains of Moab  (1:6-4:49)
Israel Urged to Obey God's Law
Idolatry Forbidden  (4:15-31)
Of punishment to come, and of conversion  (4:21-31)

CROSS REFERENCES

Jeremiah 29:12-13 (KJV)  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye
shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. [13] And ye
shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your
heart.

Isaiah 55:6-7 (KJV)  Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
call ye upon him while he is near: [7] Let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he
will abundantly pardon.

Psalm 119:2 (KJV)  Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,
and that seek him with the whole heart.

Ezekiel 33:11 (KJV)   Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord
God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil
ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

COMMENTARY

With all your heart and soul; indicates total involvement and
commitment.  [NIV SB]

If you will seek the Lord and be converted every day; if you
will of your own spiritual choice be free and joyous in God; if with
gladsome consent of heart to His gracious call you come wearing the yoke
of Christ,--the yoke of obedience and service,--all your murmurings
will be stilled, all your difficulties will be removed, all the
perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved.  MB101

The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never
be wrought in us by which we are to be restored to His likeness. By
nature we are alienated from God. The Holy Spirit describes our
condition in such words as these: "Dead in trespasses and sins;" "the
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;" "no soundness in it."
We are held fast in the snare of Satan, "taken captive by him at
his will." God desires to heal us, to set us free. But since this
requires an entire transformation, a renewing of our whole nature, we
must yield ourselves wholly to Him.  SC43

A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other
union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for
our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and
last and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is
a union of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being.
All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of
Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own
will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and
internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment as well as
a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness--sin
in all its forms--must be overcome if we would enter into a union
with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so
deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to
attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from
these cherished idols.
After the union with Christ has been formed, it can be preserved
only by earnest prayer and untiring effort. We must resist, we must
deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage,
by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory. 5T231

Do you want to know God? God promised the Israelites that they
would find him when they searched with all their hearts and souls. God
is knowable and wants to be known--but we have to want to know him.
Acts of service and worship must be accompanied by sincere devotion
of the heart. As Hebrews 11:6 says, "Anyone who comes to him must
believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek
him." God will reward those who pursue a relationship with him.
[Life Application SB]

So often we feel that God isn't present in our lives.  But it's
not because he doesn't want to be there.  Maybe it's because we
haven't made a place for him inside of us.  We are so filled up with our
addictions and compulsive activity that we leave no room for God.  Reading
the Bible, praying and serving Him help us start creating a place
for God.  [Recovery Devotional Bible mod]

In the midst of playing baseball in the backyard, Jim's
six-year-old son's best friend, and next door neighbor, came out of his
house. "Dad, can I go play with Brad?" he asked. "But son, we're
playing baseball. Don't you want to play with me?" Jim asked, not really
wanting to hear the answer he knew was coming. "Nah, I'd rather play
with Brad," his son replied, all too honestly. Jim had a rival for
his son's affection, and he was a six-year-old.
As he struggled with that thought, knowing that he'd better get
a handle on it because it was only going to escalate, he suddenly
was reminded that God felt the same way about him. He jealously
desires our affection and attention as well. It breaks his heart when we
show more interest in cars, sports, newspapers, television, yard
work, hobbies, books, and family activities than we do in reading his
word and prayer. It saddens him when we are more committed to serving
ourselves and pursuing our own interests than we are in serving him.
If God were to examine your heart today, what rivals for his
attention would he find? (A Dad's Blessing by Gary Smalley and John
Trent)
Application: Idolatry makes anything but God the highest
priority in life. Do you value your relationship with God more than
anything else? Or have you allowed money, leisure, friendships - or
anything else - to rule your life? Smash the idols in your life and make
a fresh commitment to put God first. He alone is worthy of this
position! [Inspirational SB]

The Lord will always respond with mercy toward those who are
truly penitent. No matter how far we have wandered, if we return to
Him with a "broken and a contrite heart" (Ps. 51:17), He will not
turn us away. [Passages Of Life SB]

APPLICATION: HOW TO LIVE IT

Matthew 6:24 (KJV)  No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Deut. 11:26 (KJV)  Behold, I set before you this day a blessing
and a curse;

Matthew 21:44 (KJV)  And whosoever shall fall on this stone
shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to
powder.

1 John 1:9 (KJV)  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.

John 15:4 (KJV)  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye,
except ye abide in me.

1 Thes. 5:17 (KJV)  Pray without ceasing.