Follow Hard After You
My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:8 (Amplified Bible)
Today I read chapter 1 (titled above) of A. W. Tozer's book, "The Pursuit of God."
I've copied selections below that hit me square in the head (this is one of those "two-by-four" reminders/revelations that God has hit me with as He is teaching me).
“How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of `accepting' Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him we need no more seek Him. This is set before us as the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believed otherwise. Thus the whole testimony of the worshipping, seeking, singing Church on that subject is crisply set aside. The experiential heart- theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Branierd.
...
When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the `and' lies our great woe. If we omit the `and', we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.
…
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, `Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name, Amen.” A. W. Tozer
The two-by-four is this...all that I have longed for, all I have striven for pales in the comparison of seeking fully or "following hard" and "clinging closely" to God. I must forgo the 'and' and I will find God. Yes, I have found Him but to have that abundant life that is promised I must continue to seek Him and only Him.
I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty. Wow. What words. Amen
Today I read chapter 1 (titled above) of A. W. Tozer's book, "The Pursuit of God."
I've copied selections below that hit me square in the head (this is one of those "two-by-four" reminders/revelations that God has hit me with as He is teaching me).
“How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of `accepting' Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him we need no more seek Him. This is set before us as the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believed otherwise. Thus the whole testimony of the worshipping, seeking, singing Church on that subject is crisply set aside. The experiential heart- theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Branierd.
...
When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the `and' lies our great woe. If we omit the `and', we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.
…
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, `Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name, Amen.” A. W. Tozer
The two-by-four is this...all that I have longed for, all I have striven for pales in the comparison of seeking fully or "following hard" and "clinging closely" to God. I must forgo the 'and' and I will find God. Yes, I have found Him but to have that abundant life that is promised I must continue to seek Him and only Him.
I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty. Wow. What words. Amen
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