When I was a freshman in highschool, I met a girl. She was beautiful in my 14 year old mind that understood the full complexity of beauty. Or as I said then “she is fine.” Also she was one of the pretty girls that was not interested in me at all. So I got in pursuit. I convinced this girl to go to homecoming with me even though she wasn’t interested in me. My family moved 6 months later. I called this girl a couple years later. She had a boyfriend. So I asked her to prom. I told her I would pay to fly her out if she would just come. While still dating this boy, she came anyway. It was great. After prom, my pursuit grew. We started dating a year and a half later. I did not say I was smart… Again I was 18… Later we got married. 14 years later we have four amazing kids and my pursuit of this girl is still alive.
I tell you that story to show the power of pursuit. Relationships have to be pursued and the best ones are pursued in both direction. Our relationship with God can be defined in our pursuit. David was a shepherd boy who became a king. Often his circumstances were bigger than him. In his youth he faced a lion, a bear, and a warrior giant. As an adult he led a country, was a general in war, and faced his own son who tried to steal his throne. What got him through all of it was this…
Psalms 16:5 Lord, I have chosen you alone as my inheritance.
You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion.
I leave my destiny and its timing in your hands.
6 Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places.
I’m overwhelmed by the privileges
that come with following you,
for you have given me the best!
7 The way you counsel and correct me makes me praise you more,
for your whispers in the night give me wisdom,
showing me what to do next.
8 Because you are close to me and always available,
my confidence will never be shaken,
for I experience your wrap-around presence every moment.
9 My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory!
Even my body will rest confident and secure.
Do you hear the pursuit? What marked David’s life was his relationship with God. He also had great failure. He was an adulterer, murderer, and had too much blood on his hands to build God’s temple. However he humbled himself before men and God. He repented of his sin, tried to make things right in the adultery, and financed much of the temple though he couldn’t build it. His constant pursuit was God in his life.
There are many things in our lives that try to draw attention to our pursuit. Careers, money, cars, power, status, position, sex, sports, or knowledge. Those things will only leave us lacking and empty in their pursuit. Most have moments of pleasure and lifetimes of consequence. When we pursuit God and relationship with Him, He meets us as His kids whom He deeply loves and finds ways to bless them.
So today what are you pursuing? How do you know? Look at your checkbook and your calendar and you find what you are pursuing most. You can’t change yesterday but you can choose today. Pursuit God and all He has for your life and discover the joy that comes with it!
Live a Better Story
Brandon Sereg
