Life as the Pursued

***As a warning, this post has the potential to be really long and also really random because my heart is learning so much right now, but I hope and pray it will make some sense to you and you'll be encouraged by it.*** Here goes...

God continues to leave me speechless. Now that I'm His (and have been for some time), He will NOT let me go. I praise Him for that. So, what do I mean by life as the pursued? I'm going to actually be a little more open than is comfortable, but by God's grace, I'll be okay. I'll start at the beginning:

I'm a girl, thus, I have bunches of desires. I want to be loved, nurtured, protected, provided for, and more. My heart cries to be a princess. God created and put within me the desires I have. Because He is my Creator, only He can fulfill my desires and everything I need perfectly. Only He can pursue me as I need to be pursued. I know that, but I am a sinner. I struggle and I begin to search out other things to fill the void in my heart only God can fill. I start trying to figure out who God's best is for me. I've been quietly struggling with the issue yet again in the past month or so. In my moment of weakness, though, God has pursued me ever more. He has shown me yet again how much He loves me. I'm His princess. He's all I need and I can have as much of Him as I want. How cool is that?

So, how does God pursue me?
It's kind of hard to explain, but in as few words as possible, He gives me just what I need right when I need it most. Whether it be a passage of Scripture, a song, a friend to encourage me, or a Girls' night out event at a local church encouraging me to wait and pointing out some blatant Truth (from the Bible) to me, God simply does not let go.

As I write this, one passage of Scripture that God showed me a couple weeks ago (and I've already written about once on this blog) comes to mind again:

"O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuaray
and beheld your power and Your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify You.
I will praise You as long as I live,
and in Your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

On my bed I remember You;
I think of You through the watches of the night.
Because You are my help,
I sing in the shadow of Your wings.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me..."

Psalm 63:1-8

Here's my prayer through that:

"Oh God, only You are my God. I do not need or want any other gods. They come into my life, but really I need You alone and desire seek only You.
Where I am in life right now is difficult and sometimes it seems there is no hope. I need You to be my hope. I need You to be all I need. You are all I need.

God, You have been with me through thick and thin. You are awesome. You've revealed to me Who You are. You are glorious, and You make everything glorious. You even made me glorious through Salvation in Christ. Oh, God, Your love is so extravagant. It's better than anything I could ever have here on earth: romance, wealth, anything. Without Your love, I'd be eternally dead. I glorify You because of that God. I praise you. I lift up my hands in surrender to You. As I do, You satisfy me, not with what I thought I needed, but with You. I'm filled. I'm whole. I'm complete. I'm Yours.

God, on my bed, help me to remember You alone. My thoughts often wonder to things I shouldn't worry about when I'm in bed at nights. Oh, God, I pray You'll be constantly in my thoughts. God, You are my only hope and my only help. You protect me. You cover me with your wings of grace. God, I sing now, in the covering of Your magnificent grace. My soul can survive only because of Your grace. I cling to You because only You can fulfill me. Only You can make me strong. Only You pursue me as I need to be pursued. Only You, God, are my life."

See? So, even as my heart wanders away at times, God's Truth in me always leads me back to Him. It's a constant pursuit.

Tonight at the Girls' Night Out I went to, I was reminded yet again that I'm God's girl. No worries. He's got this. I needed tonight to lead me back to what God's been teaching me and back to His Word. God knew I needed it RIGHT NOW, and allowed me to go to the event. He's awesome like that. This is life as the pursued princess of God--I'm always given what I need when I need it, I'm always loved, I'm never forgotten, I never have to worry about anything.

Anyway, as I lie down to sleep, God will be on my heart through the watches of the night. The question, "What does the Holy Spirit do in you while you sleep?" comes to mind. I don't quite know, but I pray He works in me and when I wake in the morning, I pray I'm closer to God and that the thoughts of my heart and mind through the watches of the nigh tonight will overflow into my living tomorrow.

In His miraculous grace,
Kristy