As I sought God for direction to write this months blog, I heard Him loud and clear. I believe that this month, God wanted me to let readers know that 2018 will be your year to chase after Him. The interesting thing about this message is that when I heard it, I went to look up the definition of the word chase. The Merriam Webster dictionary defined chase as “the act of chasing : pursuit or an earnest or frenzied seeking after something desired”. My pastor over the last few months has been constantly preaching that 2018 is the year of pursuit. When I turned to my bible, God emphasized seeking Him as He kept taking me to read about Asa, King of Judah in 2 Chronicles 14: 2-7 NIV.
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest. 7 “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
Similar to the way that King Asa had to make sure that certain things were in order throughout Judah in order to seek the Lord, this year there are going to be things that you have to continuously make sure are in tact during your chase:
- Your Priorities - In a world where we are conditioned to multitasking and constantly be on the go it can become difficult to place things on hold and put God first. In a position of authority, there had to be so many things on King Asa’s plate but no matter what, he placed God first. It is imperative that you seek God first throughout your chase in 2018 and everything else will be given to you (Matthew 6:33 NIV). Make sure your time spent with God takes precedence over everything else in your life. Make your prayers a priority, make reading the word a priority, and make reflecting on the word a priority.
- Your Focus - It is so easy to let the things of this world sway our mind or thought pattern but this year we must strive to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2 NIV). Instead of investing so much time appeasing our flesh through: social media, television, pampering ourselves, or relationships, we are going to have to take a stance in the way King Asa did to condition ourselves to focus, and know how to remove all distractions when chasing after God.
This past Thursday night at bible study, my pastor let another pastor by the name of Jerome Glenn preach and he spoke about how when you pursue God's presence you will possess His promises. In 2 Chronicles 14:7 NIV King Asa states “because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side”. That same scripture goes on to tell us how when the people of Judah built, they prospered. This year, chase after God relentlessly knowing that in His presences is where your blessings will fall. In His presence is where peace, rest and joy will be found. In His presence is where your foundation will be built and prosperity will be birthed. In His presence is where the impossible will be made possible. In His presence is where defeat becomes victory. In His presence is where brokenness is made whole. In His presence is where fear becomes confidence. In His presence is where pride is stripped away to become humility. In His presence is where pain is translated into purpose. In His presence is unconditional love, safety, forgiveness, acceptance, healing, guidance, strength and where so much more is housed. God’s presence is the ultimate prize and when we seek Him with all of our heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13 NIV). Throughout the month of January and all this year, continue chasing after God.
A song that truly moves my spirit by Tye Tribbett is called Chasing After You. It’s an older song but it’s a good one to help put things in perspective of what chainsing after God truly looks like, so take a moment to listen to the youtube video below before going into the prayer.
A song that truly moves my spirit by Tye Tribbett is called Chasing After You. It’s an older song but it’s a good one to help put things in perspective of what chainsing after God truly looks like, so take a moment to listen to the youtube video below before going into the prayer.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
We are wowed by your faithfulness and give glory to your holy name. Thank you for blessing us with another year, another day, another breath. You brought us through 2017 and for that we give you glory! For everything that is going to happen in 2018, we trust you and we give you glory in advance. We thank you in for victory in 2018, thank you for growth and every lesson that will be learned. Thank you for the hard times and thank you for the good times. Thank you in advance for all of the things that we will forget to thank you for throughout the year. As we kick off this new year we pray that you place a desire in our hearts to chase after you and you alone God. Make us desperate to remain in your presence and be where you are. Teach us how and when to seek your face daily while filling us with contentment and complete satisfaction in your presence. Take us from glory to glory this year. Fill us up in an unimaginable way and anoint us like never before. Let our priorities and focus remain in tact and let nothing knock us off of our square. Cover us, protect us, and keep us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Heavenly Father,
We are wowed by your faithfulness and give glory to your holy name. Thank you for blessing us with another year, another day, another breath. You brought us through 2017 and for that we give you glory! For everything that is going to happen in 2018, we trust you and we give you glory in advance. We thank you in for victory in 2018, thank you for growth and every lesson that will be learned. Thank you for the hard times and thank you for the good times. Thank you in advance for all of the things that we will forget to thank you for throughout the year. As we kick off this new year we pray that you place a desire in our hearts to chase after you and you alone God. Make us desperate to remain in your presence and be where you are. Teach us how and when to seek your face daily while filling us with contentment and complete satisfaction in your presence. Take us from glory to glory this year. Fill us up in an unimaginable way and anoint us like never before. Let our priorities and focus remain in tact and let nothing knock us off of our square. Cover us, protect us, and keep us. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.