W@W WRAP – Week 386

Pursuing God!

Read:

Act:

Let us be determined this week to:

Know that when we seek God wholeheartedly, we will find Him. That is God’s promise. As we pursue Him above all else, everything in our lives falls into alignment. May we long to know Him more deeply. As we read in Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV): “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” A.W. Tozer states: “The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One.” May we reach the point of taking up our cross to follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24) and remember Jesus said, “Whoever loses their life for Me, will find it” (Matthew 16:25). Despite life’s distractions, busyness, trials, temptations, doubts and disappointments causing us to lose our first love and initial passion for God, may we always be obedient and submit to God’s will. The pinnacle of our existence is to worship God and to bring Him honour and glory! The restless yearning of our hearts can and will only be satisfied in communion with God as we live in and experience His presence. It’s only in and through JESUS that we can re-enter into a right and eternal relationship with our Heavenly Father. It’s only through GRACE that we are saved from our sins. It’s only through Christ’s UNCONDITIONAL LOVE that we receive ETERNITY with God – and that is the PROMISE and the HOPE we live by as we pursue God above all.

Remember to KNOW God is to LOVE God. May we all have a burning desire to be close to the majesty of God’s presence, a fire deep within our souls ignited by our true love for Him! How amazing is this quote by Frederick Faber: “Eternity will not be long enough to learn all He is, or to praise Him for all He has done, but then, that matters not; for we shall be always with Him, and we desire nothing more.” So why then, do we still fail to draw near to God? The sad reality of our day is that people know of God based on the interpretation and messages of others, BUT they do not personally know Him. The one who fears the Lord lacks nothing! Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing! Our ultimate dilemma is our awareness of God’s divine presence. It’s not a question of, “Where are You, God?” For there is only one answer to this question: “We serve a good and faithful God, Who is always HERE!”

Slow down and spend quality time in God’s presence. Spending time with God may require effort, and slowing down with Him comes at a cost. However, as we dwell in His presence, we will be so filled with Him that we will find it worth any cost or effort. So let us together declare Psalm 27:4-5 (AMP): “One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.”

Pray:

Father, thank You so much that You want to be with us. You want to dwell with us. You want us to be in Your presence on an ongoing basis. And so, my prayer more of You, Lord, more of You every day. More of You in me and through me to the glory of Yourself. I want to pray that You continue to press on our hearts through Your Holy Spirit the need from Your side also to have us in Your presence. Lord, You have proven to us right from the start when You created man and had them in the garden that every day You wanted to be in contact, walking with them. And so, God, that has not changed, and we thank You for that. And so my prayer is that we will continue to live those lives in that fashion, pursuing You, seeking Your presence so that Your will be done in everything, Lord. In Jesus’ name.

God, our amazing Father in Heaven, You are exalted above the Heavens. Let Your glory be over all the earth (Psalm 57:5). You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive all glory and honour and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they are created and have their being (Revelation 4:11). We choose to put You first, no matter what the cost. We are ready to do Your will. May it be said of our lives that everything we do is an act of prayer and worship unto You and that we always only do what pleases You (John 8:29). Because our hearts burn only for You and so God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name. Amen.