“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future. 

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,

and I will listen to you. 

You will seek me and find me

when you seek me with all your heart.”

-- Jeremiah 29:11-13
NIV Version

 

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

-- Matthew 7:7-8
NIV Version

 

            As I considered what I wanted to talk about today, I thought about what big lessons I have learned during my time here at Bethany. Yes, I have learned how to solve a derivative, the difference between an aldehyde and a ketone, and even the basics of Kierkegaard’s philosophies on life. But I have learned many lessons outside of the classroom, too. One of these “outside” lessons has changed my life forever. I have begun my walk with God.
 

            On the day of my high school graduation, I received a gift of a framed Bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11. Throughout high school, I regularly attended church, but never felt that God had a major influence on my life, so when I received that gift, I didn’t really connect with the verse…until I came to Bethany. 
 

            Walking on Bethany’s campus, a feeling of “home” surrounded me. My classes, my activities, and my friends all contributed to this reassuring feeling that God was watching over me and was glad that I was here.  God had directed me to Bethany to continue my education—a place where an education in Biology was just the tip of the iceberg—but why? Unbeknownst to me, Bethany College and Lindsborg, KS, were just the places to lead me to God.
 

            I had always sung in my home church choir, and one day my friend asked me to come along to choir practice at Bethany Church. I said, sure. Well, I began regularly going to church to sing and fell into a similar cycle of churchgoing that I had experienced in high school. 
 

            But this time something was different. I didn’t feel quite right unless I had been to church the past Sunday; I did everything I could to not miss Chi Alpha meetings on campus; I attended Chapel regularly. God was working in me and I didn’t even know it. Even though I was involved in more Church activities than ever before, something was missing—I wanted to be a child of God in the traditional sense. I made the big leap, and with the help of my family, friends, and my mentor, Dr. Englund, I was baptized on Easter Saturday, 2005. I found my way to the Lord, and it was good.
 

            Isn’t it funny how God finds the perfect time to “choose” each one of us? By the grace of God we are claimed by him and he chooses to do his work in us and through us. I truly believe that God led me to Bethany to help me find myself and to find Him, but my work isn’t done. As Matthew 7 says, “seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” God has a plan for me, that’s for sure, but he expects me to do my share, too. Bethany College was a door opened for me by God, but it’s been my job to find what treasures lay behind it. Treasures like friends, professors, knowledge, and faith. 
 

            What treasures has God placed for you here at Bethany? What other doors are in your life, just waiting to be opened? Where is God leading you next? God says it in at least two places in the Bible – “seek and you will find.” This is my challenge to you. Search for God with all of your heart. 
 

            A search for God does not begin and end with attending Church on Sunday. There are so many ways to glorify God; in prayer, in fellowship, even in working hard to achieve your goals. Be an active searcher of Christ. You may even find him in places you’d never expect—like in a choir loft. When times are tough and you don’t see God, remember that he’s there, even when you can’t find him. God claimed us first. He’s not going anywhere. Our job is to continue seeking God and listening for where he is leading us today. Seek the love of God each and every day, and he will open the doors to your future. As I leave Bethany to pursue my education in Pharmacy, God has shown me another door, and this time, I’m ready to knock.