God Chases after You // Psalm 23:6

I saw something the other day that immediately took me back to walking Ethan, and then Mia, through a parking lot. There was a little girl with pigtails, seriously cute as a button, running with glee. Behind her was a man (I presume her dad) who was chasing after her with a grimace. One thought she was footloose and fancy free; the other filled with terror. The man finally caught up to the tot and scooped her up in his arms with relief. I’ve certainly been there and it immediately caused me to reflect.

We all too often live life like the toddler running through the world oblivious to the threats all around us. Does God ever look like the exasperated parent in a continuous pursuit? I think so. Sure, there are bound to be times when He has to let us go to make our own choices, bad though they may be, so we can learn the lessons we must. The beauty of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son reveals that God is always watching and waiting with great anticipation for that time when the child turns around due to exhaustion, dead ends, or some other reason. I gotta believe though, that God is always right behind us even when He gives us the space we demand.

Today’s verse comes from The Message’s rendering of Psalm 23.6: “Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.” God chases because He loves. He sees the threats we cannot and knows the totality of steps we must take. My prayer is I make fewer steps running from God and more running to Him. Then, it becomes apparent that the Lord longs to run with us to make sure we run with purpose.

I hope you know that God chases after you. If you’ve been running away from God, take that step to turn back to Him. You’ll see He is right there, ready to scoop you into His holy arms now and into forever.