Everyone wants to be pursued.

 
OK–I’m not sure that’s entirely true, but I believe women have this desire ingrained in them early in life. As a single woman, these thoughts arise whenever there is a wedding, engagement or even during times of adversity. When others marry or get engaged, I am happy for them, but I also feel “less than.” Weddings and engagements create a lot of tension because I want to focus on others, but if I am truthful, I spend part of my time grieving the life I wanted. When life is hard, I desire someone to come alongside me and work through these trials with me.

“When life is hard, I desire someone to come alongside me and work through these trials with me.”

When I think about what is important about pursuit, it becomes evident that pursuit implies value and worth. Pursuit also implies that something is preferred over something else. It suggests that the person that is pursued is more desired than the person that isn’t. In relationships, it implies that you are valuable enough for another person to put aside their interests to invest time chasing you. Within the desire to be pursued are multiple other desires–the desire to be wanted, to be known, to be important to someone, and to be delighted in.

My heart feels the desire to be pursued strongly at times. When I was younger I could not have a conversation about it without becoming emotional. But now, I live in the tension of wanting something but trusting God for his plan. I have become aware of God’s perfect pursuit of me. God pursues us differently at different times. One of the ways God pursues us is through his people. He pursues us based on our personality and interests. God pursues us through his son’s death on the cross, through his creation, through his word, and through biblical community. But the primary way God pursues us is through his perfect love.

“The primary way God pursues us is through his perfect love.”

God’s love is perfect.  It does not depend on what kind of day he had or whether I “met the standard.” I am valuable to God just because I exist. He is the reason I even exist at all. Romans 3 tells me that God does not pursue me because of what he knows about me, but despite what he knows about me.  

“As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 (NIV)

My identity and value are not in being a wife, mother, single person, school employee, or in my performance. It is in the knowledge that God loves me no matter what and that he pursues me continually in ways that are better than the way any individual can pursue me. According to Psalm 139, I can’t escape his pursuit and his thoughts of me outnumber the grains of sand. 1 Peter 2:9 shows I was chosen.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!…How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.” Psalm 139:7-8, 17-18 (ESV)

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
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With the knowledge that God pursues me so well, how do I respond to God’s pursuit? Do I spend time with him getting to know him as he knows me? Do I notice how God is pursuing me in the moment or is it years later? Where would I be today if God had not pursued me?