God Pursues Us With Gifts: 8 Bible Verses About God Pursuing Us
The gray squirrel returned to the deck today. As warm spring days push back against the long winter, life seems to be reemerging. As I watched from my chair by the window, I sensed God’s goodness, almost as if he were pursuing me. I opened my Bible in search of truth about God’s love and found the following Bible verses about God pursuing us.
8 Bible Verses About God Pursuing Us
At times, it feels like mishaps and misfortune are chasing us down. Trouble chases us in many ways: health crises, financial fallouts, and broken relationships.
Meanwhile, the Bible tells a different story.
God pursues us, and he carries gifts in his hands. Let’s start by looking at a well-known Psalm; then we’ll unpack seven additional Bible verses about God pursuing us. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you respond to God’s pursuit.
Bible Verses About God Pursuing Us
1. Psalm 23:6
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (ESV).
God pursues us every day of our lives, and he carries these two gifts: goodness and mercy.
Let’s be careful not to gloss over these words because they’re familiar.
In the original language, the word for “pursue” is “radaph.” Radaph is more than just a pursuit. Radaph is translated as “chase.”
This truth is hard to fathom. The Maker of the Universe is literally chasing you today. He is chasing you, and he is holding two gifts in his hands. His gifts are goodness and mercy.
We’ll take a closer look at this verse at the end of today’s reading. For now, let’s consider seven additional Bible verses about God’s pursuit of us.
2. Psalm 139:7-8
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
We cannot escape God’s presence. This truth brings us comfort when we feel alone and forsaken.
God is always with us, pursuing us in love. If you feel alone today, remember that God is still with you. He loves you, and his plans for you are good.
3. Luke 15:20
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
The story of the Prodigal Son exemplifies God’s posture toward us when we return to him after being distant and disobedient. God runs to us. He does not stand aloof in anger. Like a loving dad, he runs to us, wraps his arms around us, and welcomes us home.
Our prodigal seasons take many forms. In the original language, “prodigal” means “wasteful.”
We usually think of reckless and rebellious living when we think of this story, but we don’t have to be reckless to be wasteful. We waste our lives any time we ignore God’s calling and chase idols such as comfort, security, and ease.
This story reminds us that no matter how we’ve wasted our lives, God runs to meet us with open arms when we repent and return to him.
4. Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God’s ultimate pursuit was sending his Son to die on our place.
When we doubt God’s love and care, we can remind ourselves of Jesus’ sacrifice. God loves us so much that he allowed his precious Child to receive the punishment we deserve.
5. Luke 15:8
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?”
Just as the poor widow in this parable searched for her lost coin until she found it, God searches for his children. And when he finds us, he rejoices even more than this widow who found her lost coin.
6. Luke 15:7
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
In the same chapter as the widow, we read about a shepherd who leaves his flock of 99 sheep to look for one lost sheep. Each sheep is precious to the shepherd, and he goes to great lengths to find the sheep that wanders off.
In the same way, God pursues us when we go astray. We are precious to him, dearly loved, and cherished.
7. Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
God rejoices over his children with joy. He loves us so much that he sings over us, quieting us with his love. This is the image of a tender Father who deeply cares for each of his children.
8. Genesis 3:9
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
When we feel rejected, our human tendency is to turn away from those who have rejected us.
God’s response is different. When Adam and Eve rejected God by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, God did not abandon them. Their rejection hurt, but God responded by pursuing them and drawing them back into his love.
He responds to us in the same way. If you have turned away from God, he has not turned away from you. He pursues you in love. He looks for ways to draw you back into his care. How will you respond?
God Pursues Us Our Whole Lives
Let’s return to Psalm 23 and take some time to reflect on God’s pursuit.
God has been chasing you with goodness and mercy all your life.
As I reflect on this, I recall chasing worldly success, comfort, and peace for many years. Sadly, they proved to be empty pursuits. All the while, God’s goodness and mercy pursued me. His goodness and mercy pursued me into my mid-twenties when I turned from old ways and decided to live for him.
God pursued me into my thirties and began to show me what it meant to set aside my agenda and trust him with my life.
His goodness and mercy continue to pursue me as I aim to follow him with my whole heart but stumble again and again.
I am a woman in need of ongoing help. I need a kind of deliverance that steps up to carry me when life gets hard, when sickness sidelines me for months, when I’m weary from yelling at my kids, and when the daily grind wears me down.
My story is the story of a woman pursued, and this can be your story, too. God is pursuing you as you read these words. He pursued you as he led you to this specific post on this specific day.
God Pursues Us With Goodness
“Goodness” can be translated as “the blessing of good things.”
As you sit in the waiting room and tremble in fear, God pursues you. He chases you with good gifts when life is hard, when grief surrounds you, and when the valley grows dark.
Your loving Father will never leave you.
He will continue to come for you, and he will carry gifts in his hands.
Maybe it’s been a while since you noticed a gift from God. Maybe life is difficult, and your heart is broken. He is still chasing you down. He is chasing you down with salmon-streaked sunsets, rainbow-imbibed soap bubbles, and kind words from strangers. God is chasing you down with strategically placed acquaintances and friends who are ordained to draw you closer to him.
Ask him to help you see his good gifts, and you will most likely be surprised.
God Pursues Us With Love in Action
God also chases you with mercy.
Mercy never meant much to me until I studied the original language for this word. We could replace the word “mercy” with the term “love in action.” God is literally chasing you down, and he wants to show you his love in action.
God chases you down with his love in action when you are lonely and afraid.
He pursues you with his love in action when you are lost and searching.
When you are living in sin and lost in worldly pleasures, God chases you down with his love in action.
When you’re not sure how you will get through another day, God chases you down with countless opportunities to encounter his love in action.
His love in action is among his greatest gifts to you. God’s love in action is waiting to fall upon you in the waiting room. It is there in the operating room, in the quiet of your bedroom, and in the lawyer’s office where those papers stare you down. His love in action is with you as you hold your child’s hand and pray for Jesus to help you. It is with you as you stare out the window and wait for that loved one to return.
If we’ll open our eyes, we just might see it: The Father runs toward us, and in his hands are gifts just for us. Share on X 
The invitation is simple. If you will humble yourself and admit that you need God’s gifts, they are yours to receive. When you doubt God’s love and care, take some time to reflect on these Bible verses about God pursuing us. Let him renew your mind with his Word. He loves you tenderly.
Calling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Attention All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
A Free Devotional to Help You Find Peace in God’s Presence
I invite you to create space for God to transform your life by downloading a free copy of my devotional eBook, The Lean Into Grace Devotional: An 8-Day Devotional for Healing, Deliverance, and Replenishment. Find it for free here. I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
