Pursue

To chase after something or someone. We read in the book of James…”Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

This act of drawing nigh (near) to God would be us pursuing Him. In this pursuit we start to build up devotion to Him which in turn strengthens our desire to draw nigh. See God made us to be in fellowship with Him and when we focus our efforts and spirit to Him…it becomes like a magnet. We draw nigh, He draws nigh and pulls us even closer.

Isn’t that an awesome thought. God wants us near Him, but it is our choice. We can focus on Him and grow closer to Him in awe and wonder at all that He is; or we can muddle through life with our spiritual heads down not realizing the greatness that is ours in Christ.

The Annie Moses Band has a song called “Lover of My Soul” and the chorus of this song is great, it says, “You pursue me, you move me, you choose me, Jesus, your the lover of my soul”. Think about that…when we become believers and accept Christ as our savior, He becomes the lover of our souls. If we fall the Spirit taps us on the shoulder as He pursues us.

So if we are chasing after (pursuing) holiness in our lives, which inevitably means we are drawing nigh unto God, then He is drawing nigh (pursuing) us as well. The point of us striving for holiness is the fact that it is truly unattainable (since we cannot achieve perfection) but we can get closer and closer as God reveals more and more of ourselves that we must change in pursuit of holiness.

My constant prayer is, as David wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalms‬ ‭139:23-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Once an item of offense to God is revealed it is incumbent upon us to make a change. God will not force holiness upon us…we must pursue it to grow closer to Him.