God’s Relentless Pursuit
God Initiates
Have you ever noticed that God is the initiator in His relationships? Jesus pursued Zacchaeus at the Sycamore tree, inviting Himself to his home. Our Savior found the Samaritan woman at the well and began a conversation with her. He stopped Paul in his tracks with a blinding light on the road to Damascus. He spoke to Moses from a burning bush. He met Hagar in the wilderness after Abraham sent her and Ishmael away, giving her hope that her son would become a great nation.
Our great God reigns over all the earth. Yet He is intimately acquainted with each soul He has created. He pursues us because of HIs desire for an eternal relationship with us. He cares about the details of our lives. He won’t stop seeking our hearts until we turn to Him and trust Him with us.
Seeking God
Though this is true, Scripture tells us to seek His face and to seek first His kingdom. Yet no one, left to themselves, seeks God. Romans 3 tells us plainly. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside.”
How can God ask us to seek Him when He knows we won’t naturally do it? It is because He pursues us first. He reveals Himself to us, then we respond to Him. In what, for me, is one of the most hopeful verses in the Bible, God said,“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I (Isaiah 65:1 NIV84).’” God reveals Himself before we have eyes to see. I wonder how often we miss Him.
Opened Eyes
I’ve taken to asking God on a regular basis to open my eyes wide to see Him. I want to find Him at work. I say, “Help me to see with the eyes of faith, Lord.” I want to witness Him in action. I need the encouragement. I know it is true that we walk by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7,) but when I recognize God at work in my world, it strengthens my faith. It reassures me that He is who He says He is. I am not a fool.
I also want to find God pursuing me. When I, in my shame, believe the lie that God values others more than He values me, reminders of His relational pursuit help me stand in truth. I can pray the same prayer. “Help me to see your relational pursuit of me with the eyes of faith, God.” He may not show up in a burning bush or flash of light as I’m walking down a road, but He will reveal Himself to me. He will help me to recognize that relational pursuit.
God’s Personal Pursuit
I can be certain that God will reveal Himself to me. It is His promise. His pursuit will look different in each person’s life. For me, most often He reveals His relational pursuit by caring for me in the details of my life. He speaks to me through Scripture or a song. Other times, He pursues me with flowers. I may find a tree in bloom while on my daily walk. Sweeter still is when I sense His nearness in prayer. I hear His still small voice in my thoughts reminding me of His faithfulness. There are times when God seems quiet, but it doesn’t mean He is not active. It is His promise that His goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in His house forever (Psalm 23). Even when my heart wanders from Him, He goes after me like a Good Shepherd searching for a lost sheep. Jesus tells of it in a parable in Luke 15. “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”
God’s personal pursuit reveals His value in me. How can I help but turn toward His face and seek Him in return?
“We love him because he first loved us.” I John 4:19 KJV