The Pursuit of God - by A. W. Tozer

The Pursuit of God
An Amazing Devotional Classic

This is one of those books that I decided I should read because, well ... I own it ... and I guess I should be nurturing my relationship with God ... and it claims to be a devotional classic. So I put it on my Books to Read in 2005 list to support my roles and goals for this current year.

And I picked it up and started reading. And there were so many amazing insights in it, I decided that I needed a pencil so I could do some underlining. And then I thought, "Man! I should do a sermon series on this stuff! This is amazing!" And then I remembered that I am doing devotional reading, and that I'm supposed to be applying this stuff to my own life, not looking for ways to apply it to others. But I still want to order copies for a few close friends...

The book is clear, quick, logical, simple, and profound. I really felt as if God Himself was speaking through the pages to me. And then I read the back of the book. It says; "During a train trip from Chicago to Texas in the late 1940s, A. W. Tozer began to write The Pursuit of God. He wrote all night, the words coming to him as fast as he could put them down. When the train pulled into McAllen, the rough draft was done."

The book starts out on the premise that all of us (who are reading this book) have souls that are hungering and thirsting after a true relationship with God. It then goes on to real discipleship issues: uncompromising obedience, radically removing evil from our lives, prayer, hearing God's voice, restoring the creature-creator relationship, meekness and rest, etc.

And I think it was Tozer's understanding of hearing God's voice (not a literal physical voice, necessarily) that really resonated (no pun intended) with what I am seeking most in my relationship with God. In the end, Tozer brings us to the "Sacrament of Living" (chapter 10), where he talks about integrated living, with no separation between the sacred and the secular. While I believe he took the concept to an extreme, non-Biblical conclusion, the idea of a truly holy, integrated life is certainly what God is calling me to. And this concept will lead perfectly into my next Devotional Classic, The Practice of the Presence of God.

Stay tuned.