Pursuing God: 15 Ways to Stir Your Longing for Jesus
Last summer, I decided to write our eleven-year-old daughter Bekah a note for each day she would be away at summer camp. After writing a note for each day of the week and tucking them into her backpack, I thought about how excited sweet Bekah would be to read them. I had no idea that the experience was about to become a heartwarming lesson about pursuing God.
The day she left for camp, I spotted a stack of envelopes labeled with the days of the week on top of the bookshelf in our hallway. Had she removed my notes from her bag?
Looking closer, I realized that I couldn’t have been further from the truth. Bekah had written daily notes for me as well. Carrying the stack of notes to my bedroom, I sat on the bed and listened to the summer rain crackling on dry earth out the window.
My heart flooded with my daughter’s love as the afternoon rain shower watered the thirsty ground, and a quiet thought fell down with the torrent from heaven: “This is how I feel when you pursue Me.”
I’ve never heard God’s audible voice. But if I’ve ever come close, this was the time.
In the same way that my precious daughter filled my heart with love through her tender expression, we fill God’s heart with love and joy when we offer him our affection.
God pursues us, and his pursuit always transforms us.
But we can pursue God as well, and when we pursue him, we fill his heart with joy.
Pursuing God Captivates His Heart
I’ve written about the following verse countless times, but it bears repeating. Song of Solomon 4:9 teaches that one glance in God’s direction captivates his heart. Every time we look God’s way, pour our hearts out to him, or show him our affection, his heart overflows with love for us.
In the same way that my heart was undone when my daughter took the time to show me how much she loves me, God is moved when we pour our love out to him.
What might this kind of outpouring look like?
It could look a thousand different ways. Here are a few ideas.
Creative Ideas for Pursuing God and Enjoying His Presence
1. Create something with your hands while enjoying God’s presence with you (a baked good, painting, poem, landscaping project, scarf, or whatever you love to create). Talk to him while you enjoy communing with the Master Creator.
2. Sip your favorite beverage and watch the sunrise or sunset. Imagine Jesus sitting next to you and enjoy his companionship.
3. Take a slow walk and enjoy God’s presence as you bask in the beauty of his created world.
4. Sit by a window and rest with God as you watch birds at the feeder, robins on the lawn, or clouds passing overhead. Marvel at the goodness of our Maker.
5. Enjoy your favorite hobby with a sacramental mindset—approaching each act slowly and mindfully. (For more on a sacramental mindset, join me here.)
6. Move your body for God’s glory. Take a bike ride, go for a swim, dig out the kayak, or go for a hike. Talk to God while you tend to his dwelling place.
Pursue God in Traditional Disciplines of Reading, Prayer, and Worship
7. Every morning, read one Psalm. Copy the verse that stands out to you, and write a prayer of gratitude to God in your journal.
8. Worship. Go to a quiet place, light a candle, and turn on your favorite worship song. Spend a few minutes worshiping God in his holiness.
9. Begin the habit of reading a daily devotional book each morning. (Check out this free 31-day devotional to get started. You can get it for free with promo code JESUS.)
10. Commit to reading through your whole Bible. Follow a reading plan or begin in Genesis and read until you’ve read every word. This kind of reading takes us deeper than picking and choosing or using the Bible only to minister to others.
11. Pray in a way that feels life-giving to you. (Click here for a free prayer guide filled with creative and life-giving ways to pursue God in prayer.)
12. Write your prayers. Writing our prayers helps us keep a record of our longings and requests. We can look back later and feel encouraged by the ways God answered. You might take this a step further by writing the impressions you sense God putting on your heart in response to your prayers.
13. Find a book that stirs your heart for the Lord. Here are two of my favorite authors: Winn Collier (Let God is a fantastic and life-changing book), and Ruth Haley Barton (Sacred Rhythms, Invitation to Solitude and Silence, and Invitation to Retreat).
Seek the Lord With Others
14. Plug into a like-minded community. Join a Bible study or Christian group. We grow in faith by pursuing him with like-minded believers.
15. Pursue God by worshiping him with others. It’s easy to fall out of the pattern of worshiping God with others in a church setting. If you have fallen out of the pattern, don’t shame yourself. God waits for you with open arms. Return to church, even if it means trying a different church. God is pleased when we seek him together (see Hebrews 10:25).
Read here for 15 creative ways to pursue God and breathe life into your faith. #seekingGod #faith #Jesus Share on X~~~
As the week of Bekah’s summer camp unfolded, I opened notes filled with riddles, illustrations, and heartfelt sentiments. Every day, my heart overflowed with love, joy, and gratitude for my precious daughter. I couldn’t help but think that my heavenly Father felt the same way as I poured my heart out to him.
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 7, 12, and 16, 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. I also recently released a teen devotional called Anchored, designed to help teens learn key biblical narratives and apply them to their lives. You can find these books here or read more below. 
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.
Devotions for Boys by Boys
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.
These Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited: God Wants to Heal, Restore, and Refresh You
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily as you trust him with the hard parts of your life. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
Download Your Free Devotional Here
Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance. We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more. This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower. Get your download for free with promo code GRACE or for a donation of 3.99 here. Thank you. This small gift helps keep this ministry running.
I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
