The Great Chase

By: Adam McClendon

www.newlineministries.com

The year was 1991.  I was staying with some family friends for a couple of weeks in the summer.  They were a retired couple living in the country.  I arrived.  There was no TV, no video games, no central air, but there was land that had to be worked.  So, in the morning I got up, hoed the garden, worked the reasonably-large chicken coop, and hung out. 

Well, one day, I had to catch a chicken.  I can’t remember if I just wanted to catch this one ornery chicken or if she was to be dinner, but I remember this sense that I had to catch this chicken.  Have you ever tried to catch a chicken?  It’s not too easy.  As I chased her, feathers flew, and chickens screamed.  In the chaos, I tripped and fell in the pin.  I stood up with a scraped knee and, as you can imagine, had junk all over me.  It was ridiculous.

Over the years, I’ve found that I’ve chased after so many things in this world that brought misery and left me feeling defeated and dirty just like in that chicken pin.  Whether I was chasing after the approval of others and a status of “cool” that led me to try drugs and party, which left me feeling more dirty and alone, or I was chasing after money, coming home feeling empty working a job I hated, I was chasing after the status and stuff of this world.

The truth is that I’m a chaser and you are a chaser.

The problem is that we chase after the wrong things.

What are you chasing?

As kids it looks different.  We chase each other in tag, so we can have fun and win.  We chase after trophies and the approval of our parents.  We chase after friends and status with designer cloths and gadgets.

The root is the same, but as we get older, it becomes more sophisticated.  We chase the American dream.  We chase people seeking approval, attention, love, and affection.  We chase money. 

When we chase these things as a means to an end, we end up empty.  These things cannot serve as a substitute for God.

Are you chasing anything as a substitute for God?  Are you chasing anything thinking that object will satisfy and fulfill you when the reality is that only God can do that?

Well, may I encourage you that Jesus came into this world to chase after you?  He pursued you before you even knew you were lost and in need of something more.

As Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

So, stop chasing status and stuff and surrender to his pursuit believing that he will satisfy completely.

Psalm 16:11: You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Isaiah 58:11: The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.