"With All God's Heart and Soul"

Jeremiah 32.36, 41 ESV

“Now therefore, thus says the Lord,… ‘I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.’”

Have you ever fully committed yourself to a project, being single-minded and totally focused on the goal? You blanked out the pain, rolled up your sleeves, and got to work. When the job was done, you wiped your brow and thought with satisfaction, “It’s amazing what I can accomplish if I just get after it” (e.g. “with all my heart and all my soul”).

God worked six days on a project and rested on the seventh. He invested Himself and was proud of His accomplishment: “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1.31). God’s work reflects His character.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Psalm 19.1 NIV

God created more than just “the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1.1). He created light, the seas, vegetation, the sun, moon, and stars, birds, fish, and animals of every kind, Adam and Eve, and more… God created YOU! Like the heavens that “declare the glory of God,” you are “the work of His hands.” He poured Himself into an elaborate and beautiful building project called the human race. You were created you for a purpose. You were built with a plan in mind. You were designed for significance.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2.10 NKJV

God created you and He created you for a purpose. Jeremiah prophesied the Lord would “restore the fortunes of Judah”  (Jeremiah 33.7) after their captivity in Babylon. He further promised, “I will plant them in this land… with all my heart and all my soul.” There’s a little intensity there, a bit of divine enthusiasm. When Christ commits to a plan, He does so with total abandon. He is single-minded and fully focused on the goal. You are His project, His goal, and the object of His great love. 

There was pain involved but He suffered it willingly for you. Jesus rolled up His sleeves and got to work. He purchased you with the price of His own blood. He gave it everything He had. You are the result of what He was able to complete. You reflect the beauty of His character. You are a tribute to the work Christ accomplished on the cross with Christ's dedication of ‘all His heart and all His soul.’