Am I searching for God with all my heart?

Live as obedient children before God. Don't let your character be molded by the desires of your ignorant days, but be holy in every department of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. The scripture says: 'Be holy, for I am holy. - 1 Peter 1:14-16 (Phillips)

But without faith, it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him. - Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified Bible)

The equation of life can be very complicated and difficult to solve due to the multiple variables such as the myriad of tasks we need to complete each day, the voices that are trying to get our attention, personal goals we desire to achieve, people that we are trying to serve, etc. In mathematics, we are taught to reduce complex equations to their simplest form to facilitate the solution. The same can be said of the Christian life. 

The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing. - Steven Covey

When we study the heroes of the faith, we see the two variables that facilitate executing a life that pleases God. Faith and obedience.

Faith is understanding that God is Omniscient and Sovereign. He knows everything and is in control of everything. As we increase our knowledge of God, we learn to trust Him more, which helps us "stay in your own lane"-to coin a phrase. Life gets extremely complex when we try to take on God's role because we think "He needs my help" (i.e. lack of faith) or "I can handle this decision myself" (i.e. I want my own way). Faith is allowing God to be God in my life even when I don't understand why or think I know better.

What is the simplified process of executing life in faith?

Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. - Psalm 46:10a (Amplified Bible)

What hinders that process?

"I am preoccupied with me! I'm not even close to touching God. He's not on my mind. I am!" I cried out: "God, I don't know how to come to you. I need to know you, to sense your presence, to feel your love, more than anything else. But I don't know what to do. Every path I follow leads back to me. I must find the way to you! I know you're all I have. But I don't know you well enough for you to be all I need. Please let me find you." - Larry Crabb, Finding God.

What is the solution?

Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:13 (Amplified Bible)

Am I searching for God with all my heart?

Obedience is the discipline of searching for God with all your heart through the daily study of His Word and continuous dialogue with Him in prayer.

If you pray to a Father who judges men by their actions without the slightest favoritism, then you should spend the time of your stay here on earth with reverent fear. For you must realize all the time that you have been "ransomed" from the futile way of living passed on to you by your fathers' traditions, not with some money payment of transient value, but by the costly shedding of blood. The price was, in fact, the lifeblood of Christ, the unblemished and unstained lamb of sacrifice. It is true that God chose him to fulfill this part before the world was founded, but it was for your benefit that he was revealed in these last days—for you who found your faith in God through Christ. And God raised him from the dead and gave him unimaginable splendor so that all your faith and hope might be centered in God. - 1 Peter 1:17-21 (Phillips)

The hymn writer John Sammis has eloquently encapsulated the execution of the Christian life by faith and obedience in his hymn Trust and Obey. Take some time to read, re-read and digest these familiar words paying particular attention to verse four.

When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey. 

Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear,
Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
Not a frown or a cross,
But it is best if we trust and obey.

But we can never prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship, sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we'll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do;
Where He sends, we will go,
Never fear; only trust and obey.

Trust and obey,
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.

What do I need to lay on the altar in the act of obedience?

Be Encouraged to Trust And Obey!

-Jeffrey Thornton