By David ReayMonday 26 Feb 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Psalm 23:6
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever. (NLT)
An old poem was written about God and had the title, “The Hound of Heaven”. It described how God pursued his much-loved creation much like a hound pursues its prey. It challenged a common view of God that had him sitting in serene heavenly isolation unmoved by what was happening in everyday human life. It showed God as one who was consumed by the goal of friendship with one who was seeking to avoid him.
The Psalmist who wrote these words of our text was not seeking to run away from God. He was desperate to run towards him in the midst of various threats to his wellbeing. At the end of this most familiar of Psalms, he recognises that the God he seeks is already seeking him.
God’s goodness and love are not simply static attributes of a distant deity. Whenever we think of God loving us, think of it in terms of pursuing love, being chased by a God who longs to lavish love on us. He does not dole out his love with a ration book in hand. He chases us bearing as a free gift his eternal love for us. When life turns against us, it is hard to adopt this perspective. But it remains true.
We don’t somehow leave God’s love behind wherever we go. God doesn’t give up on us, exhausted or frustrated by the effort of trying to reach us. He never gives up loving us. We may refuse that love, fail to discern that love. But that is a failure on our part, not his part. In good times and bad times, in times of strength and weakness, much faith or little faith, our God chases us with love. Best for us to let him catch us.
Blessings
David Reay