PURSUING GOD’S GLORY (5)

“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me” (Psalm 63:8 KJV).

As the prophet Elijah began his last journey on earth, his servant Elisha resolved to inherit his legacy. He determined to cling to Elijah with undivided attention and unclouded focus. On three different occasions, Elijah tried to discourage Elisha from following him, but on those three occasions, his suggestions hit a stone wall in Elisha –“As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you...”(2 Kings 2:4,6,9 NKJV). The younger prophet was resolute in his determination to inherit the legacy of his master.

Finally, the day came when Elijah was to be translated to heaven by a fiery chariot. He called Elisha to make one final request from him before he was taken up. Elisha, who had been amazed at the intensity of the power of God upon Elijah, asked for a double portion of the anointing on Elijah. By asking for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit, Elisha was simply asking to become the heir of Elijah and therefore be favoured to step into his prophetic office and gifts. This request was beyond the powers of Elijah to grant because only God determines who serves as His prophet. Elijah responded that Elisha’s request would be granted on one condition –“if you see me when I am taken up from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so” (2 Kings 2:10 NKJV). On hearing the condition for his request to be met, Elisha clung to Elijah with even firmer determination so as not to miss what God is about to do with him. He followed hard after Elijah! 

To follow hard after a thing is to pursue it with such a resolve as if your whole life depends on getting that thing. In our context, to follow hard after God means to seek and yearn after His intimacy with an ever-increasing intensity. It is to do everything within your power once you find God, to keep Him with you at all cost. For many of us, our quest for God ends with our conversion.  The new birth experience signals the beginning of spiritual relationship with God, which is nurtured for as long as the person has the breath of life. There is so much growing in God that will last forever. Several years ago, I was much troubled by the insatiable desire to know more of God that I asked God about it. He gave me an answer that settles it for me forever. He said, “Maturity in Christ is always a goal for those who are not fools.”  In our relationship with God, the moment you begin to feel that you have arrived, you know you are only beginning. Anytime you feel you are on top, it indicates you are right at the bottom.

Following hard after God means, to pursue Him closely through the thick and thin of life with all the energy at our disposal.  It is being full and being hungry at the same time. In the physical world, the more food we eat, the less hungry we feel. It is the opposite in the spiritual. The more of God we have, the hungrier for Him we become.  God is an infinite mystery, which will forever remain unexplored by our finite mind. Genuine hunger for God drives us to His Presence resulting in increasing waves of encounter as we yearn for more and more of Him. God invites us to dive deeper and deeper into the knowledge of His glory. His invitation is also His assurance that we will never be disappointed.

Our souls follow hard after God simply because He upholds us with His right hand.  None can pursue God unless He bids him to come.  As A.W. Tozer observed in his ever-refreshing classic, The Pursuit of God, “The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him. All the time we are pursuing Him, we are already in His hand: “Thy right hand upholdeth me.” What a truth! The desire to follow hard after God is a proof that we are already firmly secure in His hand. At no other time is following hard after God more needful than now. Many are following after mere mirage, which will end in avoidable heart aches. Only God is worthy of our pursuits because only Him truly satisfies. Resolve with the Psalmist to follow hard after Him even as He upholds you in His right hand in Jesus Name.