The Joy of Pursuing God

Posted on Oct 15, 2020 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Skip Heitzig

The writer of Hebrews tells us that God rewards those “who diligently seek Him” (11:6). God wants you to pursue Him. Isn’t that true of any relationship? Whether you’re married, dating, or single, you want someone you care about to care about you—not only to know you exist but to think you’re worth getting to know. Any healthy relationship requires mutual pursuit, and relationships stagnate when the pursuit is abandoned.

Over and over, the Bible tells us not only that God can be found and known but that He loves it when we seek Him. King David told his son Solomon to get to know God: “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). David put a similar thought in song: “There is truly a reward for those who live for God” (Psalm 58:11 NLT). The prophet Jeremiah shared God’s promise to the faithful seeker: “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). We all know Jesus’s familiar guarantee that asking leads to receiving, seeking to finding, and knocking to opening (Luke 11:10). We are to seek God, and He will respond. James made the math simple: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). Relationships are about the pursuit.

In all of this, though, we are talking about our response to what God did first. Our pursuit of God is our answer to His initial pursuit of us. God made the first move; He always does. As “Prime Mover” of the universe, He expects an honest response. “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct… This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in” (Luke 11:10 MSG). He does not play games with us.

If we are able to seek Him, it’s because He came after us first. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). He made the first move, revealing Himself in a number of ways we’ll explore in the pages ahead. That revelation demands a response. After all, Jesus didn’t tell us to casually snack after righteousness; rather, we are to “hunger and thirst” for it (Matthew 5:6). When we do, He will satisfy us.

Your pursuit ought to be an intentional, committed response to a God who intentionally committed Himself to you in Christ. When you look at the list of people in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith, that’s the thread woven throughout each of their lives: faithful pursuit in response to the God who is and who cares.

What is your chief pursuit, your master passion? What do you want more than anything else in life? Only you can answer those questions. And you need to. Surveys, polls, and research all point to the typical answer: People want to be happy. The Declaration of Independence touts our right to the pursuit of happiness, along with life and liberty. Faced with the uncertainties of their children’s future, most parents admit they just want their kids to be happy. Let me tell you something that might surprise you: God wants you to be happy too.

How we go about pursuing happiness is the key. At some point, we all look for it in the wrong places, in human relationships and accomplishments and accumulation, and surprisingly, even within the church itself. Now, education may open opportunities, money may buy certain comforts, and status may purchase a type of satisfaction. But God made you, and He knows what it takes to make you truly happy.