Scripture: Psalm 23:6
Journal: What difference could it make in your heart and soul to fully realize
that God is the one who is continually pursuing you? What difference could it make in the way you
live your life?
Reflection:
Surely goodness and love will follow me all of the days of my life.
(Psalm 23:6) It is so easy to skim
right over this line, if we are not careful, and miss the beauty and the
mystery and depths and the truth of what is actually being said. So often we fall into the trap of believing that
we are the ones pursuing an elusive God, rather than realizing that it is
actually he who is pursuing us. And this
one realization can make all of the difference in the world. It can make a difference in how we see God,
how we feel about him, how we think he feels about us, and, thus, how we relate
to him.
If we think that we are the
pursuers and God is the pursued, we are likely to live our lives in anger and
frustration and despair and doubt and uncertainty, due to our perception that,
no matter how hard we try, God often seems either extraordinarily distant, or
absent altogether. He doesn’t often show
up in the ways we want or need (or think we need) or demand. So that either means that he does not care,
or that we are doing something wrong.
Both of which create distance between us, rather than the intimacy both
we and God long for.
But what if God is actually
the pursuer, and we are the pursued?
What does that tell us about his heart?
And what does it tell us about our worth and value? And how does it change the way we see him and
relate to him? My guess is that it makes
an enormous difference. For when we
truly see ourselves as the Sought After (Isaiah 62:12), it does something deep
and beautiful in our hearts. It draws us
and woos toward the One who made us fearfully and wonderfully, and loves us so
much that he cannot possibly stay away from us, but promises to pursue us to
the ends of the earth. I suppose that’s why
so many saints and pilgrims of old have called him the Hound of Heaven. For he is the One relentlessly in pursuit of
us. As Thomas Kelly once said: “The
Hound of Heaven is on our track, the God of Love is wooing us to His Holy Life.”
Which brings us to our verse
in the psalm: “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my
life.” (Psalm 23:6) The word translated
here as follow, is the Hebrew word radaph, which means to
run after, chase after, or pursue earnestly.
In fact, in 1 Samuel 26:20 it is translated, to hunt: “As one hunts
for a partridge in the mountains.”
Thus, the God of goodness and love pursues us, his beloved. He runs after us, chases after us, and tracks
us down all the days of our lives. We
are no longer the hunter—looking and searching all over for the elusive God—but
the hunted. God is pursuing us with his
unfailing, relentless love and care. And
he will not stop until we have been completely captured by him—until we have
been seized by the power of the Great Affection. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: O God, thank you that you relentlessly pursue
us with you abundant love and infinite goodness. Help us to be open this day to the many ways
you will come to us and speak to us. Open
our eyes and our ears that we might see you and hear you. And give us hearts willing to follow you
wherever you may lead. In the name of
Jesus we pray. Amen.
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