Hiding Place DevotionalSample

Relentless Pursuit

 Time and time again, God's Word gives us beautiful pictures of His pursuing love for us. In fact, the Bible is one big story of God's pursuit of us. But I think one of my favorite stories is the story of Jonah. Read Jonah 1-3. God gave Jonah very clear directions. And Jonah did not obey. "But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord." -Jonah 1:3. Now, God didn't need Jonah to carry out His plan. He loved Jonah and refused to give up on him, even when he wanted nothing to do with God. He loved him so much that he went to extreme measures to win back his heart. Do I pursue my children with such a vigilant love? It's easy to pursue them when things are going swimmingly, but when they run from me (literally and figuratively), am I willing to intensify the pursuit that much more? When my husband and I were dating, he did everything he could to show me that I was the most important person in the world to him (and still does). He wanted to spend time with me and know me. He would write me letters, and poetry, and songs so that I was constantly reminded of his love for me. He pursued my heart. There was nothing passive about it. It was an active pursuit. In a similar way, our kids want to be actively pursued. They want to be known. They need to be known. "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life" -Psalm 23:6. The word pursue here is the same word used in other passages of scripture to describe someone being chased or an army in pursuit. This kind of pursuit has a mission and a purpose--to claim something. God is on a daily mission to claim our hearts as His own. Let's ask the Lord to examine our hearts concerning our children. Are there any walls of resentment that need to be torn down? How can we seek to know them better? Let's ask Him for wisdom in knowing how we can be on mission each day with a love that pursues their hearts. And on the days they run from us, may we chase their hearts even more fiercely than before.