The Pursuit of God
Pursue: to follow, run after, chase someone or something to catch them.
I have five grandsons; one is married and the remaining four have darling girlfriends. Being a romantic at heart, I thoroughly enjoy watching these guys pursue these girls. I loved the sweet Christmas gifts they each carefully chose for their “girl”. And I loved seeing them in church on Sunday holding their girlfriends’ hands. Aw! Sweet romance. Pursuing and being pursued.
I enjoy hearing about men who intentionally pursue the women they love. I know “pursue” by having been pursued by the sweet love of my life. But, more importantly than these sweet loves is the GRAND pursuer, God, Who pursues the ones He loves. That’s you and me. In fact, the only reason we can even consider what it means to pursue God is because He first pursued us.
We pursue a lot of things — that promotion or that handsome guy or beautiful girl or that next best thing in technology or the bigger house or high-tech car. Yes, there are perks when we pursue things that make our life more efficient and comfortable. But, in our pursuit of God, everything else in our life will be in the proper order. Pursuing God first gives us the wisdom, understanding and wholeness in spirit, soul, and body.
In Psalm 23:6, David makes a declaration of faith: “Surely Your goodness and mercy will PURSUE me (follow me) all the days of my life and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” David knew about pursuing. He pursued the lion and the bear. He was successful because he had been in the quiet green pastures with His Shepherd. Remember the analogy Jesus gave about a shepherd who leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep to PURSUE the one that is lost? That Shepherd is Jesus, also pursuing you and me.
What if we PURSUED our Good Shepherd like we pursued our wants or our significant others? If we did, the distractions and the opposing forces that come to defeat us, would be silenced, and rendered “null and void”. We would then sing with David “The Lord is MY Shepherd. There is NOTHING that I want.” How can I be effective in the PURSUIT of happiness, joy, peace, freedom from fear and anxiety, lest I be in a place of strength and relentless, fearless, and audacious in faith, and wholeness in spirit and mind that can only come from pursuing and knowing the Good Shepherd.
David says this in Psalm 63:1 — “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
Jeremiah 29:13 is another favorite of mine that speaks of pursuing God. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” When we seek God with all our hearts, we find him. He never hides from us. It’s such a beautiful assurance to know that when we decide to seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him.
I believe that God is calling His people to love Him and desire Him more than ever before. We can do that. He first pursued us and has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us pursue Him well. He has also given us His Word as a source of ongoing “romance” with Him. When we seek Him, we will find Him. May we pursue the heart of God every single day and may we grow in faith, love, and in deeper fellowship with the One Who first pursued us.