The Glorious Pursuit

"I must secure more time for private devotions. I have been living far too public for me. The shortening of private devotions starves the soul. It grows lean and faint." - William Wilberforce

"We have almost forgotten that God is a person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can. It is inherent in the personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter. It is only after long and loving mental intercourse that the full possibilities of both can be explored. For now begins the glorious pursuit, the heart's happy exploration of the infinite riches of the Godhead. That is where we begin., I say, but where we stop no man has yet discovered, for there in the awful and mysterious depths of the Triune God neither limit nor end." - A.W. Tower

Throughout the ages many have explored and pursued God more deeply than the rest of us. A.W. Tozer was such a man. He often sprawled out on the floor of his small study in Chicago lost in private wordless worship for hours on end. Tower walked with God. He made God the ultimate pursuit of his life and others came to Tozer to drink deeply from that oasis. He penned the classic book The Pursuit of God out of his own private pursuit of God. This was not theory but real practical experience for a man who desired nothing on earth more than God.

There is not a more glorious pursuit on this planet than the pursuit of God. Not winning the Superbowl later on today. Not achieving success. Not wining Olympic medals as Jesse Owens did decades ago. Not growing a business. Not achieving academic prowess.

Psalm 73:25 (NASB)
²⁵  Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 

Besides God can you and I truly say we desire nothing on earth. The word desire means "to take delight in or find pleasure in." We delight in hundreds of things more than God. We find pleasure in many things other than God. This explains the superficiality of our walks with God and the shallowness in many churches today. Sadly it also explains the lack of depth coming from many pulpits. How can preachers publicly proclaim deep truths they have never experienced for themselves. 

We are a shallow people spiritually. Many of us can't even say as Wilberforce did that our devotions are shortened.The honest confession of the masses might be our devotions are non existent. Do we seek God? Do we pursue God? Do we have any hunger or any thirst for God and the things of God? If the answer is no something is very wrong. Are such people truly saved. If so, repentance and return to the Lord are necessary. 

Each of us will expand our days in the pursuit of something. The average life span of a female in the U.S. is 81 years. The average life span for a male in the U.S. 76 years. I did the math subtracting my current age from the average life span. If I live that long I have about 27 years left. 

27 years. What will I do with those 27 years. There is nothing more glorious I could do over the next near three decades than to pursue knowing God. If He is my glorious pursuit I will be a better husband, father and eventually grandfather. I will become a more faithful pastor, preacher, prophet and poet. I will have a never ending supply of fresh material to write about with depth and substance. I will not merely become an echo of other men. 

I want to know God for myself. I want to sit at the feet of masters like Tozer, George Mueller, John Hyde, Rees Howells, E.M. Bounds, Leonard Ravenhill and a host of others as I have done over the years. I don't want to be satisfied with living off second hand experiences. I want to encounter God for myself and feed the souls of others entrusted to my care. 

All of this begins with the glorious pursuit of seeking God. There is no higher calling. There is no greater ambition. There is no greater privilege. Like Tozer wrote, "That is where we begin., I say, but where we stop no man has yet discovered, for there in the awful and mysterious depths of the Triune God neither limit nor end." -