God Pursues Us
When we evaluate our spiritual growth, we often begin by looking at our actions—how often we pray, read Scripture, or attend church. These disciplines are important and essential to long-term maturity in Christ. But there's a problem when we base our spiritual health primarily on these outward practices. When we do, our efforts become the foundation of our assurance, and we start to believe we are the ones sustaining and growing our faith.
But that’s not the picture the Bible paints. Throughout Scripture, God is the one who initiates—pursuing, providing for, and leading His people. He moves toward us, not because we sought Him first, but because He loves us. So, my encouragement this morning is simple: remember that God pursues us first, and we respond to him.
When we reverse that order—believing our pursuit of God comes first—we risk falling into one of two traps: despair or self-righteousness. Despair comes when we fail or fall into sin, realizing we’re not strong enough to maintain our faith on our own. Self-righteousness happens when our behavior looks good on the outside, and we begin to believe we don’t need grace. Like the Pharisees, we see Jesus’s mercy as unnecessary. In both cases, we’ve centered our faith on our actions rather than on Christ.
But the gospel reminds us that God is always the initiator. Our good works are a response to His grace, not a means to earn it. Ephesians 2 illustrates this beautifully. After describing God’s unmerited grace through Christ, Paul writes in verse 10 that we are God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Our pursuit of godliness flows from Christ’s pursuit of us.
So today, my exhortation is not to do more, but to remember.
Remember the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power as you wake each morning face another day.
Remember Christ’s perfect life as you fight sin.
Remember God’s sovereignty when you fear the unknown future.
Remember heaven’s hope when you suffer.
And remember God’s pursuit of you when you doubt.
Your faithfulness is not measured by your performance, but secured by the Savior who came, died, and rose again for His people. As you go into the week ahead, remember: God pursues us first, and we respond.