“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” –Psalm 63:8 KJV
The Passion Translation renders it, “With passion I pursue and cling to you. Because I feel your grip on my life, I keep my soul close to your heart.” –Psalm 63:8 TPT
Jesus said that knowing God is eternal life, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. –John 17:3 NIV It is simply not enough to know about God. We must know Him in increasing levels of intimacy that lift us above all reason and doubt and into devotion and praise and worship.
Knowledge of God only comes through experience as He reveals Himself to you. Throughout the Bible God took the initiative to reveal Himself to people by experience. In my own pursuit of God I came to know Him as I spent time in prayer, studying His Word, getting to know the Holy Spirit, and learning to hear to hear His voice. I also came to know Him through personal experience with Him and by name. I remember many experiences where I came to know Him this way.
David was a man who understood this. He was a man after God’s own heart. David penned Psalm 63 when he was hiding in the wilderness of Judea. In Psalm 63, David proclaimed Elohim to be his EL (God). In a day when pagans thought there were many gods and each nation had their own gods, David proclaimed his allegiance to Elohim. David longed to find God in a dry and weary place in the wilderness.
We pursue God because, and only because, He has put a yearning within us that spurs us to pursue. “No man can come to me,” said our Lord, “except the Father which hath sent me draw him,” In Hosea 2:14, speaking of Israel’s adultery, this an an example of how God enticed them into the wilderness to speak tenderly to them and bringing them back to Himself.
The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand: –A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
What people need today is spiritual truth ministered in a way that allows us to understand who God is and what He is about. We may have an intellectual and theological level of understanding based upon human interpretation of God. Yet, God desires we get to know Him on an intimate and personal level.
During times of uncertainty we tend to look for someone or something to cling to that gives us hope for the future. As David pursued and clung to God during his time in the wilderness, we can also pursue and cling to Him during this time of uncertainty knowing that He is not far from us.
As you experience God, you come to know Him more intimately and personally. As you come to know Him as Provider, Comforter, Faithful and True, … during this time of uncertainty, you will want to express your praise, gratitude and worship to Him. Watch for ways that God may bring you to a deeper knowledge Him during the experiences of your life. Then take time to worship Him as you have come to know Him.
Blessings
Dr. A
BEYOND CHURCH WALLS 