The Pursuit of God
by A.W. Tozer, 1982
- Following Hard after God -- God has put an urge within us to seek
Him. He waits to be wanted. If we want to find Him, we must determine to do
so and then proceed in the way of simplicity.
- The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing -- Things have taken the
place of God in the shrine of man's heart. As we seek God, He takes us
through times of being stripped down until we cling to Him for our security
alone. Only by removing dependence on things can we fully turn the throne
of our hearts over to God's dominion.
- Removing the Veil -- We are separated from God's manifest
presence by our sin. God has done everything that could be done to remove
every impediment to our coming into that presence, yet so few of us
actually avail ourselves of the opportunity because a veil covers our
hearts. Our fleshly natures must come under the power of the cross before
we can enjoy the manifest presence of God.
- Apprehending God -- God's presence is not an idea or doctrine,
it is something that can be sensed. Our souls have eyes and ears with which
we can see and hear God and commune with Him. The spiritual world is real.
We must eliminate our reliance on our material senses and worship in spirit
and in truth.
- The Universal Presence -- Wherever we are God is here. This
omnipresence is not the same as the manifest presence. Only by cultivating
a spiritual awareness can we begin to recognize God's manifest presence.
God will reveal Himself to those who will earnestly seek that presence.
- The Speaking Voice -- God is constantly speaking to His creation.
The Bible's power comes from God's voice speaking in the universe. It is a
living Word which reaches our hearts, God's Wisdom which has called out to
men from the beginning of time, drawing us to desire to know Him personally.
- The Gaze of the Soul -- Faith allows us to see the invisible
things of God. When we focus on God, we walk by faith and not by sight.
Anyone can gaze into the face of God by faith at any time, anywhere.
- Restoring the Creator-Creature Relation -- Our lives can only be
on the right track when we are in a right relation to God. This can only be
done by accepting God as He is instead of trying to make Him into what we
want Him to be. Do we exalt God to His rightful place of dominion, or are
we so taken with things that we pay Him only lipservice?
- Meekness and Rest -- Mankind bears massive burdens due to our
nature of sin. Our pride causes us to work very hard to maintain everyone
else's image of us. We expend great deals of energy pretending to be better
than we are just someone will appreciate us. Jesus offers us rest from our
burdens. His rest is the rest of meekness. In Christ, we care nothing for
the opinions of others, and we can relax.
- The Sacrament of Living -- We cause ourselves a great deal of
confusion when we think of this world in terms of secular and spiritual.
Only by seeing all that we do as an offering to God will we live in the
constant presence of God as living sacrifices.
