No matter how many times I fail at seeking him with all my heart, the Lord never stops pursuing me.

I did something extremely uncharacteristic recently.

I got up at 5:15 a.m. Willingly.

Let me make one thing clear: I’m not a morning person. I never have been, and I am fully convinced that I never will be. But it was May, and I’m borderline obsessed with migratory birds.

Pursing a passion

When reports began to pop up that a varied bunting had been spotted along the lake in Ozaukee County (at a park I had previously visited twice earlier in the week, no less), I felt a strong pull to go. This feathered marvel is what those of us in the birding world consider a “vagrant”—a bird that is currently far outside of its typical habitat. According to the Merlin bird app, this bird’s typical habitat extends throughout Mexico and reaches only as far north as the southernmost parts of Arizona and Texas.

“Would it be crazy to get up and head out there before church tomorrow?” I inquired of my husband that night.

[God’s] pursuit does not depend on how we feel or how we act. He loved us from the very beginning.

“Yes,” he replied.

My face fell. It’s not thrilling to hear that your ideas might be crazy. Yet I was the one who asked, fully knowing that he would give me an honest answer.

“I didn’t say it would be stupid or that you shouldn’t do it,” he clarified when he saw the dejected look on my face. “But that’s not what you asked. You asked if it would be crazy. And I’m telling you that I think it would be a little bit crazy. But that’s what you do when you are passionate about something. Sometimes you do things that others would consider radical or maybe even a little bit crazy.”

My face broke into a full-out smile. I was going.

I set my alarm for 5:30 A.M. and then proceeded to toss and turn with the excitement of what this morning could bring. The dog kindly saved me from the sound of the alarm by licking me awake 15 minutes earlier than it was set to go off, her stomach telling her it was high time for breakfast to be served.

Seeking the Creator

As I drove east just after sunrise, my mind turned to the last time my passion had driven me to head toward the lake at a less than convenient time of the day in pursuit of another one of God’s many wonders. It was just a little over a year ago that I had left the house just before midnight in hopes of catching an impressive display of his magnificent Northern Lights. And, boy, had God delivered.

My husband’s words returned to me then: “That’s what you do when you’re passionate about something.”

I asked myself: Am I this passionate about the Creator himself? Do I pursue him at all costs, living in a way and making decisions that may seem radical to some in order to remain close to him?

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

At that point I had to be honest with myself and admit that I often lack that sort of passion for my faith. The world clouds my view, leaving me distracted. The stresses of everyday life leave me overwhelmed.

The discontentment I feel in my heart when I focus on what I want but don’t have leaves me ungrateful. The desire to be liked and accepted leaves me quiet and less than firm in my values when I want so badly to blend in. And sometimes, all of the above leaves me feeling just too exhausted. Pursuing God seems like an awful lot of work.

So I skip my daily Bible reading or prayer time because the to-do list is just so long. Or I rush through bedtime prayers with my kids because I just can’t wait to have time to myself. Or I start to think about how different our finances would look if we didn’t prioritize church offerings or Christian education. Or I give in to temptations for various sins that seem to be no big deal, even though I know they will only leave me with a heart not truly focused on my heavenly Father.

“Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always” (1 Chronicles 16:11).

Being relentlessly pursued

Thankfully, no matter how many times I fail at seeking him with all my heart, the Lord never stops pursuing me. He never stops pursuing you.

His pursuit does not depend on how we feel or how we act. He loved us from the very beginning—while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). He leaves the 99 in search of the 1 (Matthew 18:10-14). And he will never stop.

His strength, not mine.

His pursuit, not mine.

His love, not mine.

“We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

He renews us day by day. Sounds like relentless pursuit to me.

We fix our eyes. Sounds like passion to me.

Thanks to at least two dozen fellow bird nerds on the trail that morning, I did lay eyes on the varied bunting—a small dark spot in a tree along the lake so completely backlit by the sun that it was hard to distinguish it from any other bird. But I saw it, so it counts. I will say this about the birding community: It is a passionate and dedicated group of people. It’s wonderful to be a part of it.

Yet I’m striving for more. Something that will last for eternity. I want to pursue my Creator. I desire and pray for a relationship with him and his Son, Jesus, that continues to grow and uphold me.

And I will live in continual gratitude that his pursuit for me is relentless, regardless.

Author: Melissa Anne Kreuser
Volume 112, Number 05
Issue: May 2025

Examples from the Bible

Looking for some biblical examples of God’s relentless pursuit of the crown of his creation? Read on!

• God pursued Adam and Eve after they sinned in the Garden of Eden (Genesis chapter 3).
• God pursued Hagar when she ran away from her problems (Genesis chapter 16).
• God pursued Elijah when he ran from Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings chapters 18, 19).
• God pursued Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts chapter 9).