Bible Reading: Song of Solomon 1
“Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee” – Song of Solomon 1:4 (KJV).
Before now, I have considered the pursuit of God only from human side. This is a lopsided and unbalanced understanding of the topic. Our pursuit of God is only a fruit, he is the seed. Ours is simply a response, he is the main pursuer. No one can come to God except the father first draws him. Since the fall, man has continued to stray further away until God came to seek and to save man. I couldn’t have pursued God except the father had first pursued me. In my depraved state, I lack the capacity and desire to pursue God. I chased shadow, like carnal pleasure, worldly treasure until God came in Christ Jesus chasing after me. Even after the new birth, he has not stopped chasing after me. He draws me to repentance and to commitment through hunger and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Each time I sense the need for revival, for the word, for prayer, for his presence, power and glory, it is just a sign of God chasing me.
Our problem is never the absence of God’s pursuit but our weak response and stubbornness, always dragging our feet, wanting to have it our own way. We often fail to see the danger of such feet dragging… “there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” Proverbs 16:25 (KJV). But for the relentless pursuit of God, I could have been lost and dammed. In my stubbornness and self-will, I sought to chart my course outside his will for my life. I allowed lust and carnal traits to drive me crazy but his love wouldn’t let me go. He followed me all the way until his love won my heart. I am a living witness of God’s pursuit. He is a die-hard chaser. He left the comfort and glory of heaven to this sinful and wretched world in pursuit of the sinful man “For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” – Luke 19:10 (KJV).
PRAYER: Dear father, please break my stubbornness and help me to respond to your loving pursuit in Jesus name.
Rev. Vincent Diolu