Laurie

When I was 13 years old, I gave my heart to Jesus. My family (which consisted of my single mom, sister, and I) had just gone through a transition of a move out of state; we lived in five different places in one year and I went to two different schools. I was in the pivotal year of eighth grade. During that time, we lived for most of the year with my aunt and her family who attended a small Nazarene church. There, my mom, sister, and I gave our hearts to Jesus. My mom met my step-dad and when all was said and done, we ended up moving right back to my home town in Covina, California – all in one year.

I didn’t know it then, but God was following hard after me. He gave me the desire to pursue Him. It wasn’t me that purposed to know God; it was God purposing to make Himself real to me so that I would live for Him. I heard my mom crying one night, during that transition year, and it broke my heart for her. I didn’t know God, yet I prayed for Him to make my mom happy. Happiness meant a relationship with Him! The pursuit was over; happiness and relationship all wrapped up in Jesus!

“We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit.” A.W. Tozer. In John chapter 6:44 we learn that no man can come to Jesus unless the Father who sent Jesus draws him. The Message says it this way, “The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me – that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End.”

I want to be ready for the End! Don’t you? And because the Father is in charge of my life, He gets the credit for me knowing Him. For me to even have had the desire to pray to the Father meant that God gave me the impulse to pray. And the outworking of my faith was that I prayed, He answered, and the rest is His story to tell. We can say it like this – As we pursue Him, we are already in His hands. “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:8. In The Messsage – “I hold on to you for dear life, and you hold me steady as a post.” Thus, the responsibility and our choice to follow hard after Him!

God has always been and will forever be. He knows each of us for eternity. This is hard for our minds to understand but understanding this truth (in the best way we can) will spur us on in the pursuit of Him who first loved us. We can trust our Father for every thing, need, desire, struggle, sadness, joy, and piece of our entire life. Our responsibility – hold on for dear life as His hand holds you!

Well, this is a bit long, like other writings of mine. Just started the first chapter of The Pursuit of God and this was my heart’s challenge to write. Guess going through this book is going to take longer than I thought! I’ve only read four paragraphs!!

From one follower to another – follow hard, my friend. God has already seen what tomorrow will bring. He holds you.

Laurie