“Draw me away! We will run after You… We will be glad and rejoice in You. We will remember Your love more than wine.” Song of Solomon 1:4

Running After God

Yesterday, I happened to glance down at a little-used area of floor in a room of our house. I am ashamed to admit that it was filthy. Dust obscured the actual color of the flooring, and cobwebs had gathered on the wall beside it. Although it had been a very long time since I even noticed that floor, I suddenly couldn’t stand the dirt. It hit me hard—a passion to clean it up RIGHT NOW. Of course, once you start to clean one area, you must clean the next. The wall got washed, the floor twice-washed, the surrounding area rugs were thrown into the washer and hung outdoors to dry, and every conceivable surface was wiped down.

That exact sense of urgency overtook me again this morning, only this time it wasn’t for cleaning an area of my home, but for returning to my former passion for intimacy with the Lord. I prayed that He would draw me away. I rejoiced in His love. I picked up an old book that has spoken deeply to my soul in the past, and began to read it afresh. Then I sat quietly with the lamp dimmed, just waiting on Him, sensing Him with me. I thanked Him for waking me early this morning, calling me to Himself.

I ran after Him, pressed into Him by the work of His Spirit in me, and found Him waiting for me. “…I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me…. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (Philippians 3:12, 15).

“Gracious, loving God, may Your Spirit come alive in us today to let us know Your continual presence. We pray that a passion for You would grip us, call us away, that we may rejoice and be glad in You. Let us remember Your love. You are forever our God, and we are Your people. In eternal thankfulness we pray. Amen.”