What would happen if we all pursued God the same way we pursue earthly relationships? I mean when I really think about this, it blows my mind. What if I craved God-time the way I do people time? OR even better ... what if I longed for and desired God as much as I long for and desire a husband and kids? What if my entire day/week/life revolved around staying up late to talk to God, chatting all throughout the day, and anticipating each and every conversation? I think about this a lot. What if I treat Christ as my heavenly bridegroom and pour my love and attention on Him as if we were in an intimate relationship? How glorious would life be if I pursued God the way I pursue a relationship.
I've been reading A.W. Tozer's book, "The Pursuit of God," and I must say that it has been truly enlightening. If you haven't read it, you should. For the past 10 years or so of my life I have refused to read books in the Christian living section in bookstores which I perceived as "self-help" books. The way I saw it, I had the only "self-help" book I needed ... the Bible. Over the past year, God has shown me that although the Bible is the most important book ever and should be top priority on my reading list, He does use His followers to impart the wisdom that He has so graciously bestowed on them. There have been so many times in my life that I thought that I was the only person going through the fire, drowning in the waves, or struggling to take another breath, yet there is a network of believers out there who have sruggled with the same thing and want to help others see God's face through the flames, the waves, and the darkness. There are things in my life that I haven't even realized that were hindering my relationship with God until it was pinpointed as certain things leading to problems in someone else's life. Anyway, needless to say, I have become a huge fan of these "Christian Living" books.
Back to "The Pursuit of God" ... I deeply respect and admire people who are good with words especially since I am not one of those people, so I love when people can make sense of things that I can't fully wrap my mind around ... this is how I see A.W. Tozer. He just has this way with words, and the things that I have always wanted to say, he says so eloquently and perfectly.
"When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the 'and' lies our great woe. If we omit the 'and' we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been securely longing. We need not fear that in seeking God only we may narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts. The opposite is true. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One."
I want to run in full pursuit of God with no distractions. I am going to pursue God like a man pursues water in the desert. I must pursue God with all of my heart.
Learning to love,
Jenna
I've been reading A.W. Tozer's book, "The Pursuit of God," and I must say that it has been truly enlightening. If you haven't read it, you should. For the past 10 years or so of my life I have refused to read books in the Christian living section in bookstores which I perceived as "self-help" books. The way I saw it, I had the only "self-help" book I needed ... the Bible. Over the past year, God has shown me that although the Bible is the most important book ever and should be top priority on my reading list, He does use His followers to impart the wisdom that He has so graciously bestowed on them. There have been so many times in my life that I thought that I was the only person going through the fire, drowning in the waves, or struggling to take another breath, yet there is a network of believers out there who have sruggled with the same thing and want to help others see God's face through the flames, the waves, and the darkness. There are things in my life that I haven't even realized that were hindering my relationship with God until it was pinpointed as certain things leading to problems in someone else's life. Anyway, needless to say, I have become a huge fan of these "Christian Living" books.
Back to "The Pursuit of God" ... I deeply respect and admire people who are good with words especially since I am not one of those people, so I love when people can make sense of things that I can't fully wrap my mind around ... this is how I see A.W. Tozer. He just has this way with words, and the things that I have always wanted to say, he says so eloquently and perfectly.
"When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the 'and' lies our great woe. If we omit the 'and' we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been securely longing. We need not fear that in seeking God only we may narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts. The opposite is true. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One."
I want to run in full pursuit of God with no distractions. I am going to pursue God like a man pursues water in the desert. I must pursue God with all of my heart.
Learning to love,
Jenna