The Pursuit Of...

In my last blog I wrote that seeking God is a passionate, zealous and continuous activity.  We pursue God the way He pursues us.  But if you are like me, it's hard to know what we are trying to pursue.  Are we pursuing facts and theology about God?  Are we pursuing a good feeling?  Some might ask what kind of God we are pursuing; an angry God, a happy God, distant but wise God?  Another might ask why we are pursuing Him; is He is hiding from us?  

Let's take another look at some verses which discuss seeking God: 

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.  (Deuteronomy 4:29)

Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. (1 Chronicles 16:10)

O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things (Prov 28:5)

The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)

The first thing that stands out to me is that we are seeking after a person.  Deuteronomy says that we will find HIM if we seek.  Everything else that I mention will flow from this thought.  We don't seek stuff (even good stuff like spouses, children, jobs, etc); we seek God Himself.  This is important, because sometimes we forget that God has feelings, and that God created us to be with Him.  With that said, we see that seeking God will result in: gladness, refreshment from longing, understanding and many other good things.  

These are all great gifts, especially if we stop and think about what they mean.  For example, could you imagine be so satisfied that you never want anything ever again?  That would be amazing.

I want to admit that the reason I focused on the priority of seeking after God instead of His gifts, is because I struggle to do that.  To be honest, I often catch myself seeking after God because I know He brings joy and peace.  I'm like the kid that goes to my friends in order to play with my friend's toys.  I think that is something we all struggle with, but I know that God will gently remind us when we are doing it.  Let me give you a quick example:

Last week was challenging for me, because I wanted peace and rest.  It eventually became my main focus throughout the day.  In my desire for rest and relaxation, I failed to appreciate the amazing opportunity I have to search for God in seminary.  Although God desires to give us rest (and "love, joy, peace, patience, etc"Gal 5:22), it's easy for me to desire the rest, joy and peace above desiring Him.  I know that to be true, because many times  I avoiding being with God when He is suffering.

That statement might raise a question in your mind: "Does God suffer?"

And the answer is Yes!

The problem with this world is evident.  God didn't indent for people to starve to death.  He didn't intend for women and children to be sold into sex trafficking.  He didn't intend for children to be forced into fighting a war.

Those things hurt God's heart.

What about the people who die everyday without hearing the good news that God loves them and wants to be with them?  What about people that are killed by their parents because they choose to believe in Jesus?

Those things hurt God's heart.

Seeking God will bring us incredible rewards, but it also requires work and sacrifice at times.  Jesus suffered for us, and He asks us to pay it forward.  In other words: followers of Jesus must be willing to sacrifice for others just like Jesus sacrificed for them.  This means forgiving people who hurt you, asking for forgiveness when you hurt others, and showing love to your enemies.  It's not always easy, but it's worth it.

A small sacrifice that I make is writing this blog in order to help people understand that God loves them.  It's not a big deal, and only takes a few hours, but it is something I think is important.  In fact, it makes me feel good in the end, because I grow closer to God by writing about Him, and I have faith that God uses these words to express His love to others.   But in reality, it's not about me or my feelings.  Neither is it about you and your opinion of me.  It's about God and His desire to tell people that He loves them.  I want to be the messenger of His good news:

"God loves you, wants to be with you, and is worth every sacrifice you will make."

I encourage you to seek God passionately, and remember that you are seeking Him instead of His stuff.  If the creator of the world wants to be in a deeper relationship with you, why wouldn't you want to spend time with Him?