God is always accessible. If we seek Him, we will find Him when we want Him more than anything else. The phrase is “when you search for me with all your heart.” is based on God’s promise to the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 4:29 – ““But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29, NASB95) The “there” was the place of exile due to the nations sin and idolatry. It was God’s plan in the 70 year exile to establish hope through suffering and to reveal His plan for their restoration and future. Once they realized their need for God they would seek Him and return to Him. Then God would restore the nation back in the land and bless them.
This passage is one of the greatest evangelistic passages of the Old Testament, because it provides the path for the prodigal. Man is in rebellion against God and sinned against Him. Now lost in sin, mankind is under bondage and separated from God, a very hopeless situation. Yet, there is hope for mankind and that hope is found in Jesus. Jesus came to give man hope and an eternal future. It is God’s plan to bring salvation through Jesus in order to restore the relationship between man and his creator.
When spiritual restoration takes place, man will then experience joyful communion with God who no longer is separated from man. Much like the Magi of Matthew 2, when we find Jesus we will worship Him, and offer Him our lives as living sacrifices of praise. “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11, NASB95)
The difficulty for people today in experiencing God, is not that God can’t be found but that people are not looking for Him with their whole heart. The promise of God is this; if and when you look for God with your whole heart, more than anything else – God will be found. And at that time your hope will be fulfilled and your relationship with God is restored.