Category: Pursuing God

Restoring the Right Relationship Between Creature and Creator

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Unless I use the expression, “creature of habit,” I don’t refer to myself as a creature but as one created by God. My choice of words symbolizes the human habit of elevating ourselves above animals and lower life forms. It isn’t wrong to do so. After all, God gave man “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” But humans also tend to elevate ourselves above the Creator and to deny that we are lowly creatures of the Most High God.

In the eighth chapter of The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer wrote about the importance of restoring the proper relationship between ourselves as creatures and God as our Creator. God created all things. We all belong to God. We exist because of Him and for Him. The right relationship to God is to be in submission to Him and to see yourself as a lower being.

Salvation restores the right relationship between man and his Creator. But even those who are saved try to make God in our own image. We take the parts of God we like (e.g. love and mercy), toss out the parts we don’t like (e.g. anger and punishment), and sculpt an image of God that serves our desires.

As Tozer said, if we want to be in right relationship with God, we must choose to exalt Him above all else. We must accept God as He is and adjust ourselves to conform to His likeness. As God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” We must surrender our whole being in true worship of Him. We must love the Lord our God, with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength.

The moment we make up our minds that we are going on with this determination to exalt God over all, we step out of the world’s parade.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Tozer pointed out something that anyone who genuinely honors God above all else knows all too well. The world does not honor God. Millions of people pay some measure of respect to God. They worship Him on Easter and Christmas Day. They insist that God be exalted on US currency with the words “in God we trust.”

Many people give lip service to honoring God but their lives say otherwise. If you look at what people do, if you look at what people choose, you’ll see that they don’t honor God much. If asked to choose, people choose money over God, they choose success over God, they choose human relationships over God, they choose self over God. The proof is in the choices we make.

Choosing to exalt God changes your viewpoint. God is the center. God gives you your moral bearings. God becomes your pilot. Exalting God is the key that unlocks the door to grace. You see how much you fall short of the glory of God. You see yourself and your relationship to others more clearly. It humbles you. It renews your mind. It simplifies your life.

People don’t want to be humbled. I have often thought that pride is the reason many people do not believe in God. It is in our sinful nature to put the self at the center. Tozer quoted a question posed by Jesus that suggests that the root of unbelief is the desire to be honored by other people. People care more about receiving glory from other people than about seeking the glory that comes from God. Truly, the desire to be held in high esteem by other people gets in the way of glorifying and honoring God.

How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

John 5:44 (Modern English Version)

Tozer closed every chapter of The Pursuit of God with a prayer. I’ve paraphrased his prayer without the “thous.”

Lord, be exalted over my comforts

Lord, be exalted over my possessions

Lord, be exalted over my friendships

Lord, be exalted over my family

Lord, be exalted over my ambitions

Lord, be exalted over my reputation

Lord, be exalted over all

Lord, rise into your proper place of honor in my life, above my friends and family, above my likes and dislikes, above my ambitions, above my health, above life itself.

The Gaze of the Soul

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In the seventh chapter of The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer wrote about a spiritual concept that is mentioned often in the Bible but defined only once: faith. I did my own search for the word faith on BibleGateway.com and brought up 458 results from the New International Version of the Bible. What is faith? As Tozer noted, Hebrews 11 gives a functional definition of faith – explaining what faith is in action, not what it is in essence.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

Tozer next explained a New Testament reference to an Old Testament story. In Numbers 21, we read that God sent venomous snakes after the people of Israel spoke out against Him and many of them were bitten and died. The people came to Moses and said, we have sinned. Moses prayed for the people. God then told Moses to put a bronze snake on a pole. Anyone who was bitten could look at the bronze snake and live.

When Jesus explained how people can be saved, He said that it is by believing. He compared believing in Him to the story in Numbers:

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

John 3:14-15

“Looking” at the Old Testament serpent was synonymous with “believing” in the New Testament Christ! The people of Israel looked at an object with their external eyes and were saved; we believe with the heart and are saved. With this connection between looking and believing, Tozer defined what faith is in essence.

Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God.

Faith isn’t just a one-time act, it is “a continuous gaze of the heart at the triune God. Sin turns our vision toward inward and makes us think too much of ourselves. Faith causes us to turn our eyes away from the self and towards God. “Faith is a redirecting of our sight…”

Simplicity

As I continued to read chapter seven, I found myself feeling emotional about the timeliness of Tozer’s message about the simplicity of faith. We do not need special equipment or a special place or a special time to look upon a saving God! I cannot go to church on Sunday. It’s been closed by a pandemic. It doesn’t matter whether I am allowed to go to a place of worship on Palm Sunday or Easter. My soul can gaze upon my Savior any hour of any day, whether I am sitting in a pew or taking a walk down a deserted street!

Those of us who believe in the risen Jesus have found the secret of seeing God from anywhere. Something in our hearts sees God.

Heavenly Father, for the past three days, I have begun the day quietly gazing at You and giving You praise even as this nation battles the coronavirus. I lift my eyes up to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. I praise You for giving me eyes to see You! Lord, may the gaze of my soul be my inward habit, even when this storm passes. Amen.

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Praise You in This Storm (Casting Crowns)

I was sure by now, God you would have reached down
And wiped our tears away,
Stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
That it’s still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear your whisper through the rain
I’m with you
And as your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
The God who gives and takes away

And I’ll praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
That you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of heaven and earth

*****

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Word of God, speak

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The sixth chapter of The Pursuit of God (The Speaking Voice), began with one of my favorite verses in the Bible – John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. A.W Tozer wrote, “it is the nature of God to speak, to communicate His thoughts to others.” God spoke the universe into being. God spoke to nothingness and it became something. God still fills the world with his speaking voice. The question is, do we recognize it?

The Bible is the written word of God but it is admittedly subject to the limitations of paper and ink. Tozer wrote that the Bible isn’t a record of a brief period of time when God was in the mood to speak. And God didn’t just write a book and send it by messenger to be read by “unaided minds.” He sends the Spirit to reveal His truth. His speaking voice gives the written word the power to affect the reader’s heart.

Tozer wrote that ancient Hebrews referred to the universal voice of God as wisdom. He also believed that human creativity is a response to the creative voice of God.

As I reflected on what Tozer wrote about God’s speaking voice, I recalled a Bible study my church group did a few years ago. I don’t remember the name of the book but I remember that we read about God’s call to Samuel. The voice of God sounded so much like a person to Samuel that he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” I came away from the Bible study wondering if I am doing something wrong if I don’t hear the audible voice of God, or even worse, that God doesn’t want to speak to me.

I’ve learned that my expectations for that Bible study were wrong. I should not expect to hear God speak to me out loud. God is Spirit and he speaks to the human spirit. God’s speaking voice is a gentle whisper. I’ve heard that whisper loud and clear when I have needed to hear it. Once, when I was feeling really hopeless and rejected, I sat on the floor crying to God about how badly I had messed things up. I heard Him say to me, “A broken and contrite heart, I will not despise.” God’s living word from Psalm 51 transcended the limitations of paper and spoke to my heart when I was ready to hear it.

The truth is, God still speaks to people, even ordinary people like me. God has never been silent. His voice is alive and free.

Imagine you get in a car and turn on the radio to listen to some music. You’re in a busy city in range of many stations. You turn the knob from station to station and scan through a variety of genres. Classical, jazz, rock, country, R&B, hip hop, gospel, the blues. Now imagine you’re driving in an isolated area like the great plains. You turn the knob and hear a station that’s just out of range. You can’t make out the words or the tune. You keep turning the knob and hear nothing but static.

The point is, if we want to hear the speaking voice of God, we must draw near to Him. We must tune in. We can’t let the noises of this world distract us from the living God who wants to be heard. No one is ever out of His range.

Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Jesus was with God from the beginning. The Word became flesh and and made his dwelling among us. Through his example and his words, Jesus expressed who God is. His voice still speaks to those who hear with their hearts. His voice is a light that shines in the darkness and gives understanding to the simple.

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:130

Lord, I thank you for sending the Word to become flesh and to live among us. Give us ears to hear and hearts that understand Your quiet, gentle voice. Unfold your words and give understanding to the simple.

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Receptive to God’s presence

On By Innermost BeingIn Pursuing God3 Comments

Wherever we are, God is here. No point is nearer to God than any other point. No one is in mere distance any farther from or any nearer to God than any other person is. A.W. Tozer wrote these truths about the omnipresence of God in the fifth chapter of The Pursuit of God, The Universal Presence. He then asked the question, if God is everywhere, then why doesn’t mankind celebrate that fact? The answer is simple: men do not know that God is here.

In previous chapters, Tozer wrote about the manifest presence of God. The presence of God and the manifest presence of God are not the same thing. God is manifest when we are aware of his presence but God is always here whether His presence is clear to us or not.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7-10

Why does God manifest His presence to some people and not to others? Does God love them more? Or does the answer lie with us?

Tozer pointed out that if you think about any of the great saints whose lives and stories are well-known (not just people from the Bible), you will see that they were all unique individuals. Moses was not like Isaiah. John was not like Paul. C.S. Lewis was not like St. Francis. God did not choose to reveal Himself to these men because there was something really special about them.

What quality do all of these people have in common? Tozer concluded that it was spiritual receptivity – being open to God and being responsive to that inward longing that so many of us feel. Spiritual receptivity is not just one thing; it is “a blending of several elements within the soul.” Spiritual receptivity is not a constant quality; people possess it to varying degrees. We must actively cultivate these “elements within the soul” if we want to be open to God’s manifest presence.

God is here but man does not always know it.

During this Lenten season, my church is reading Scot McKnight’s 40 Days: Living the Jesus Creed. In the reading for day nine, McKnight wrote about a God who is “on call.” When Scot was a teenager, he foolishly drove an old car 100 mph on a two-lane highway. The road crested slightly and the car was slightly airborne. Then the road curved and Scot realized he couldn’t make the curve at such a high speed. Through the mercy of the God who is always on call, Scot was able to slow down enough to navigate the curve.

We are made aware of God’s presence through personal experience. Like Scot McKnight, I have had a couple of near-misses on the highway when I was very aware of and thankful for God’s protective presence! I have felt God’s comforting presence in moments of grief and emotional turmoil. I am aware of God’s guiding presence as I navigate the difficult spiritual tests of this life.

Tozer did not attempt to identify any of the elements of spiritual receptivity. From my own experience, I’ve listed a few elements of the soul that open me up to God’s manifest presence.

Devotion

The greatest commandment (part of what McKnight calls The Jesus Creed) is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Simply said, it is to love God with everything you’ve got! It is having a personal relationship with God and making God the most important part of your life.

Many religious people treat God as just an icon or a set of beliefs. Loving God is more than loving the idea of God. As Jason Gray sings, this is more like falling in love than religion. I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes. It’s gotta be more like falling in love than something to believe in. More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance. Jesus made God real to me and swept me off my feet!

Humility

I just read a non-religious article about the power of intellectual humility. The author wrote that humble people are more open to learning from others because personal growth is their goal, not social status. Likewise, spiritual humility is the key to spiritual growth.

I think of humility in two ways. One, I am the small ‘c’ created being and God is the the big ‘C’ Creator. He is omniscient. There is so much I do not know about countless topics, even in comparison to other mortals. I can’t see the future; God already knows it. He is powerful; I am weak. Two, God is holy. He is the source of all that is good and moral. I am confronted daily with my sinfulness and inability to ever be pure in my thoughts and deeds.

Humility makes us receptive to God because we have to first acknowledge our fallibility and weakness to seek God’s help. Humble people are open to learning from Him. Humble people get their courage and strength from God.

Honesty and Openness

I believe that God reveals himself to those who are honest with themselves and with Him. We can’t hide our thoughts and feelings from God. Before an all-knowing God, it’s pointless to pretend to be something we are not. Before an all-seeing God, it’s pointless to cover up our thoughts and feelings. God is not fooled or impressed with our pretenses.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

In the psalms, I find the kind of honesty and openness that characterizes a person who is receptive to God’s presence and to the transforming power of the Spirit. David was honest with God about his fears. At times, David felt ignored and rejected by God. He was honest about his frustrations with injustice. In Psalm 10, David asked, “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” He then went on to complain at length about the actions of the wicked before acknowledging that God sees the troubles of the afflicted. God hears the cries of the afflicted. God is not indifferent to our suffering. God defends the oppressed. God is here.

Hunger

I eat several times a day. It’s hard for me to ignore hunger and the allure of my favorite foods. I am fortunate that I never have to be hungry for long because food is almost always readily available.

To be receptive to the presence of God, we have to long for God just as much as we long for our favorite snacks. God is readily available. We must long to fill that gnawing spiritual emptiness that exists when we are not fed by God.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6

Lord, you are here. You are always near, even when it feels like you are far off. You are always on call. I am always in your hands. Thank you for loving me and protecting me from harm. I pray that you will cultivate the elements of my soul that make me receptive to your presence. Search me and show me the errors of my ways. Fill me with your goodness! Give me eyes that see and ears that hear your truth. Amen.

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Apprehending God

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The fourth chapter of The Pursuit of God is titled, Apprehending God. Clearly A.W. Tozer wasn’t using the meaning of apprehend that I am most familiar with – to arrest someone for a crime. To avoid confusion, I thought about using the word perceiving in my own title, but then I realized that the nuances of the word apprehend are perfect for the subject. To apprehend is to perceive or understand – to grasp something either physically or mentally.

apprehend – from French appréhender or Latin apprehendere, from ad- ‘towards’ + prehendere ‘lay hold of’

How many people really grasp who God is? To many people, God is unknowable. He is merely an inference or a deduction based on the evidence of creation. Others see God as an ideal or another name for that which is good. You would think that Christians would know God as well as anyone can but for millions of them, God is no more real than he is to non-believers.

Tozer wrote that the scriptures suggest that God is just as knowable as any person or thing we experience with our five senses. Taste and see that the Lord is good. My sheep listen to my voice. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. The implication is that we have the means in our hearts to perceive God just as we have the ability to experience material things with our five senses.

Jesus gives believers the ability to know God. Our spiritual faculties are awakened when we are born again! The Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:6) and it is in spirit that worshipers commune with God.

God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in Spirit and in truth.

John 4:24

Tozer asked, why then do some Christians know so little about the “habitual conscious communion with God” that is prevalent in scripture? One reason is unbelief. We are prone to doubt the reality of the hidden spiritual kingdom that is all around us. The visible, physical world continuously assaults our five senses. We tend to draw a line between material things and the invisible, spiritual world. But the spiritual is real and constantly present.

Perhaps another reason we don’t commune with God is spiritual laziness. If you want to perceive God, if you want to comprehend the heart of God, you must love and pursue him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.

Faith enables our spiritual sense to function. Where faith is defective, the result will be inward insensibility and numbness toward spiritual things.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Tozer wrote that we need to break the bad habit of ignoring the spiritual. “For the great unseen reality is God.” If we truly want to seek God, we must seek to be otherworldly. Deliberately choose the kingdom of God as the focus of your interest, even if people think you’re crazy for doing so. Don’t make the mistake of pushing the kingdom of God into the future. The kingdom of God is here and now, existing parallel to our physical world.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Heavenly Father, thank you for the senses that allow me to experience and enjoy the material world. What a beautiful world it is! But the physical world overwhelms my five senses and when it does, I stop paying attention to my spiritual sense. I stop paying attention to you. Help me break my bad habits. Remind me to be still and know that you are God. Holy Spirit, remind me 50 times a day if you have to, that you are with me. As Francesca sings so beautifully,

Holy Spirit You are welcome here
Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere
Your Glory God is what our hearts long for
To be overcome by Your Presence Lord

Jesus, I believe. But sometimes I am a doubting Thomas. Thank you for showing me the heart of God! Thank you for showing me that the kingdom of God is here. When I have my moments of doubt, help me overcome my unbelief!

Father, Son and Spirit, even with my limited faculties, I grasp who you are. I lift my hands up to you in praise and apprehend that you are my God.

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