05/11/2021
We are told to study the Word of God, and increase ourselves in faith, but in this endeavor we are not alone. As we strive for righteousness through our faith we have the supporting love of God, the intercession of Jesus, and the constant prayers, and actions of the Holy Spirit. We repeat God’s promise that we are never alone, but do we realize how relentlessly active He is in pursuing that promise? He doesn’t just say that He is with us always, nor does He walk quietly behind us as we go about our lives, no, He pursues us... even reaching into our most egregious sin to extract us.
“You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.”
Psalm 139:3-5 ESV
My freshman year in college I had a roommate who loved a girl in a mighty way. They met in high school, and he fell deeply in love with her. So great was his love that he went to amazing lengths to win her hand. He often told us the story of how he wooed her, and eventually won her love, and that story of intense love is one I still remember to this day. You see she had another suitor who was also pursing her affection, so it was uncertain that she would choose him, but He was undeterred, and relentlessly brought her gifts, engaged her in conversation, and told her of his love for her, until at last she was won over. They have been married for nearly 50 years, and his love for her is just as strong now as it was then. God’s love for us is a similar story as he pursues our affection, and faithfulness. He is in a pitched battle against Satan for our souls. He does more than just hover about us as we decide whether we will choose Him; He relentlessly pursues us... even to the point of sending His Son to die for our redemption, and His Holy Spirit to pray for us when we can’t find the words. God seeks us out wherever we go...
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”
Psalm 139:7-12 ESV
When we read this psalm that David wrote, some think that God is like the air that surrounds us, and his omnipresence is a natural part of who He is, but when we read these words it becomes very apparent that being wherever David was is not by chance, or by His nature... it is purposeful, and driven by the love and desire for this man. As we follow David’s life we see the very active hand of God in it, whether it be towards the young man who slayed Goliath, the fugitive who hid from Saul in caves, the sinner who committed adultery with Bathsheba, the man who danced before the Arc of the Covenant, or the faithful king who desired to build a temple for his LORD. God was with him always, and He never took His hand from him... He pursued him, just as he pursued Jerusalem, and he now pursues us.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
The Bible is many things, but from the very first, and greatest, commandment to the end of the story in Revelation, it is a love story between God and man.
“Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
Mark 12:29-30 ESV
This story could easily have ended in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed, and ate of the forbidden fruit, but it didn’t. God’s love had already dealt with that event as he continued his loving pursuit of us; a love that began before creation... even to the point of planning for our redemption.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”
Ephesians 1:3-5 ESV
So we are loved beyond our wildest dreams, and have been pursued from before the foundation of the earth. Of all the great love stories, fictional like Romeo and Juliet, or factual like my roommates, and perhaps your own, none can hold a candle to the brilliance of God’s love for us, and the relentless, and ever active, nature of His love, and His being with us always. God is actively with us.l, and pursuing us...
“But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.””
John 5:17 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being with us always, and actively pursuing us in love. Thank you for this relationship that predates all of creation, and which accommodates all circumstances such that even though we might fall, or yield to temptation, we can thank you for having made a way by grace through your Son Jesus that we can return to you forgiven. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God whose love, and presence is active, ever vigilant, and with us always. Praised be your name for every act of love you present us with, and for your mercy as you strengthen our love and desire for you, so that in this way your love will not go unanswered... unrequited. Hear our prayers Father as we praise you, thank you, and pledge our endless love for you! Teach us to pray as we should so that our eyes will be open always to your continuous goodness, and motion in our lives. Wash us with the blood of Jesus, and make us ready to be the bride of Christ... pure and acceptable to Him in every way. Separate us from sin so that we will be found worthy to sit at your table, and loved as your children for all eternity.
“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:20 ESV
Rich Forbes