20
Jul 2017

I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, Unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, Which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; (Isaiah 65:1-2)
We have a God that is longsuffering. He is patient. He endures my hardness. There was a poem written in the late 1800’s that was heralded as one of the best odes in the English language. The name of the poem is “The Hound of Heaven.” It is a beautiful, artistic way of describing the relentless pursuit God gives to His creation.
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat – and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet –
‘All things betray thee, who betrayest Me’…
Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me…
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms,
But just that thou might’st seek it in My arms.
God is relentless in his love. The holy hunt for those he cherishes is still continuing today. “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15).