Chapter 1: Following Hard After God

My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. (Psalm 63:8)

“Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which, briefly stated, means that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man.” [Prevenient Grace is a wonderful John Wesleyism]

“We pursue God because, and only because, he has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit.”

“The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after him.”

“We have almost forgotten that God is a person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can. …but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter. It is only after long and loving mental intercourse that the full possibilities of both can be explored.”

“The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion.”

“You and I are in little (our sins excepted) what God is in large. Being made in his image we have within us the capacity to know him.” … The moment the Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration our whole being senses its kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition. That is the heavenly birth without which we cannot see the kingdom of God, It is, however, not an end but an inception, for now begins the glorious pursuit, the heart’s happy exploration of the infinite riches of the Godhead.”

“To have found God and still to pursue him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.”

from The Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home, 1965

Since then I’ve learned a better way of understanding a significant difference between the two: What gives you energy versus what depletes your energy. That’s not a scholarly definition, but it sure helps me understand myself a little better. Reading and studying stimulates me. Two hours socializing at a party makes me want to crawl in my bed and sleep for eight hours. I can do both; I can enjoy both… but one pumps me up and the other wears me out. Knowing this about myself can help me strategize how I approach life, ministry, etc.

Now, it is true that, left to myself, I will probably choose to stay in my comfort zone and gravitate toward being alone or with a very small group of people. That’s why I’m so thankful I married a forceful extrovert who occasionally has to blast me out of that gravitational pull and get me out and about more. What a blessing she is to me in this respect!

Over the years I’ve been collecting articles on this subject that have been helpful to me in understanding how being an introvert can influence me as a husband, pastor, etc. I thought you might be interested in reading them as well.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

• How Introverted Pastors Love at Desiring God
• Help! I’m an Introvert… and a Pastor at Pastors.com
• Help! I Married an Introvert at Gospel Coalition
• Four Lies About Introverts at Gospel Coalition
• 7 Ways to Help an Introvert Engage at Meetings by Ron Edmondson
• True Confession: Life as an Introvert by Ron Edmondson
• How an Introvert Handles Awkward Situations by Ron Edmondson
• 7 False Assumptions about Introverts by Ron Edmondson (He’s got other posts on this subject as well, but I thought four was enough. You can check out his links for his other great posts.)
• Staying in Community When You are an Introvert at Building Church Leaders
• Leading as an Introvert at Building Church Leaders
• The Christian Introvert by Tim Challies at Crosswalk.com
• Introvert? No Apology Required by Adam McHugh at Crosswalk.com
• Introverts: You Can Evangelize by Whitney Hopler at Crosswalk.com

Many of us in this place today praise you for the blessed memory
of a Christian home.
Our prayers of thanksgiving join those of Timothy,
for the incredible blessing of learning the Holy Scriptures at a mother’s
          and a grandmother’s knee.
We thank you, Father God, for our mothers who have loved us -
taught us -
prayed with us and for us -
and lived before us as women of faith.
May that heritage continue on in this generation.

Prepare our hearts to receive the seed of your Word.
Grant that it may take deep root and bring forth fruit to your glory.
Visit us with your salvation and instill faith in every heart. Amen.”

from Wendell C. Hawley’s book of prayer, A Pastor Prays for His People

Of course, as with most people, I first met Chambers through the devotional, My Utmost for His Highest. That devotional, like all of his books, was put together after his death from the notes his wife took (shorthand) from his many lectures, studies, sermons, etc. (She was quite a woman).

I own pretty close to all of Chambers’ books (due to the very kind and generous offerings of a widow who was giving away her departed husband’s library). I have treasured them.

Chambers only lived into his early 40s. As someone who will be 48 this year, I have been “forced” to compare my productivity with his. I’m not fairing well. But we moderns never seem to compare well with anyone who’s been dead for a hundred years or more (usually). At any rate, if you would like to learn more about Chambers’ extraordinary short life, you can check out the following links.

• My Utmost for His Highest (online version of his wonderful devotional.) You can click here for another good version of it.
• Wikipedia on Chambers. Seems to be an accurate summary of what I’ve read thus far.
• The Oswald Chambers Publications Association. (official site)
• Wheaton College’s Collection

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dale

Piper recently preached the following message on Spurgeon at Reformed Theological Seminary.
Enjoy,
Dale

Faithful and gracious Lord, Thou has granted us the joy of beholding our son confess his faith in Thee, the only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We beseech Thee to keep him faithful to Thee all the days of his life.

O Lord, we, too, dedicate our lives again to Thee and ask Thee to give us strength and grace to live closer to Thee, who has so graciously been with us throughout these many years. We confess that we have not always served Thee as we ought; forgive us and grant that we may walk daily in Thy presence as an example of Christian devotion and consecrated living to our son. Preserve and keep us in Thy grace, and make our home Thy dwelling place, where Thy Word governs our every thought, word, and deed.

O Lord, let this be a day of rejoicing to all who confess Thee. We ask this is Jesus’ name. Amen.

Taken from The Lutheran Book of Prayer, 1951