Pursuing The God Who Pursues Me

“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up.You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.” – Psalms 139:1-4.

Think about this for a second. God is the only one who can make a donkey talk, walk on water, make water come out of a rock, heal the sick, raise the dead, give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, make a cripple man walk, cast out demons, feed 5,000 with just two fishes and five loaves of bread, and the list goes on and on. The simple truth is God is omniscient. He knows everything, including the past, present, and future and He pursues us to bring us to Him.

If you have just started a relationship with God, it might feel like God is a new addition to your life. In reality, however, the Bible makes it clear that God has been at work in your life before you were born. Psalm 139:15-16 says, “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

So how do we pursue God as He pursues us? This is where we typically list the usual suspects such as small groups, studying the Bible, and quiet time. But I would like to answer the question from a different perspective. It would be hard to find somebody who didn’t want more in their life. More money, more time, more love, more gifts, etc. There is one area of life, however, where wanting more is a very good thing—wanting more of God.

The question we have to ask ourselves is this: Are we content with how much of God we have right now? Because if the level of God’s involvement in our life is sufficient, we don’t need to pursue Him any further. “It is wonderful that He loves us and that He died for our sins as a means of getting to Heaven, but, I feel pretty good about where the relationship is today.  On Sunday, I put money in the offering, I sing the worship songs and I attend a small group each week.”  All that is good, but does it stimulate or feed our hunger for more of God? Does that motivate us to know more, to be closer to our Savior?  Are we proactively seeking God rather than waiting until a crisis hits to seek His face?

I know these are hard questions. But here is what I know. The constant presence of God is promised to every one of His children. However, it is not a one way relationship. While God pursues us out of love, we should be pursuing Him.

Discussion Questions:

1. How much of God do you want?
2. How do you pursue a deeper knowledge of and relationship with God? Are you as consistent as you would like to be?
3. Who do you know who seems to pursue God earnestly and consistently? How does that investment of time seem to impact their lives?
4. If you could do one thing to better pursue God this week, what would it be?