On A Mission…
1 Samuel 1:9-15 Amplified Bible (AMP)
9So Hannah rose after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat beside a post of the temple (tent) of the Lord. 10And [Hannah] was in distress of soul, praying to the Lord and weeping bitterly. 11She vowed, saying, O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid and [earnestly] remember, and not forget Your handmaid but will give me a son, I will give him to the Lord all his life; no razor shall touch his head. 12And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli noticed her mouth. 13Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you. 15But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.
1 Samuel 2:1-3 Amplified Bible (AMP)
1HANNAH PRAYED, and said, My heart exults and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted up in the Lord. My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God. 3Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance go forth from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.
As we left Bible study last night, we were listening to the radio and a song came on by William Murphy, that we often sing in Praise and Worship entitled “Chasing After You.” As I sang along, the words began to resonate in my spirit but then became alive in my heart and mind in those moments; I wanted to just scream as I felt chills inside. The words said, “I'm chasing after You, no matter what I have to do…‘Cause I need You more and more…I'm chasing after You, no matter what I have to do…‘Cause I need You, Lord, more and more…I'm chasing after You…Praising my way through…Just to be closer to You, Lord…I'm chasing after You, Lord.” In those moments realizing again that I needed more of God and how to get to Him was to chase Him, I could not contain what was going on inside, even now as I sit and write my eyes are filled with tears to overflowing.
We chase after so much “STUFF,” things that in the eternal sense of who we are yet to be, do not mean anything, but we will pursue it with all of our hearts, minds, soul and hearts without hesitation and reservation, But do we pursue God like that? Do we treat Him like a mission we are on, like that special and precious person in our lives that requires being chased? We will spend countless hours, chasing, jobs, dreams, people, fame, status, wealth, cars, houses and after human love, but how much time do we spend being a God chaser, one that not only pursues God for the things we need, want and desire, but to know Him more, and to be connected and intimate with Him? Our Bishop used an illustration in his message Sunday about a young man in love with one young lady that would not call and one young lady that was blowing up his phone. Bishop advised him, to run from the one running after him. He stated anything worth having was going to be work and take some effort. Anything in this life we know that is worth having means that it requires some work, and usually lots of it. Why is it so easy for us to put in the time to get stuff, achieve a level of success in whatever industry we are in or to be in right standing with people but we don’t, won’t and some of us just down right refuse to spend the time chasing God, pressing into Him, for all the right reasons? If we could for just one moment understand that being in pursuit of God first will ultimately get us things, and the love that we may aspire to, we would reverse the process, we would be running after God and delving into His word more and letting Him give us the guidance and the understanding of how to be successful and achieve.
I love the story of Hannah, because she did not let the pain of her circumstance and what she did not have keep her from the press, she was on a mission, she got in God’s face. Yes she wanted something from God, but she was willing to give God a whole lot to God as well. No matter how she looked to other people she still pressed in, she was in hot pursuit of God. The Bible says in Psalms 42:1, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” We should be thirsting for God and pursuing Him like a glass of water on a scorching hot day. If only we understood the fullness and the joy that comes from knowing Him in that way, we would find it hard to want to be any other place than in His presences. The overwhelming love that overshadows and subdues every fear and bathes us with His grace, we would chase after God by any means necessary. Praising our way to Him only to get in His presence in a place of worship that lets us know His heart beat for us. What are you chasing? Can whatever it is give you all that God can? If not I would change assignments if I were you!
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