To “press hard after God” is to follow him closely, like someone who is afraid of losing sight of something very valuable, following Him in season and out, whether it’s convenient or not. To “press hard after God” means we’re hot on His trail, we’ve got our nose to the ground, ears fully engaged, looking near and far for the indications of His presence and direction.
When David was in the wilderness of Judah, Psalm63 reveals a man who thirsted after the Lord. Psalm63:1, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” David had a choice, he could just lay down and die letting Saul kill him and be done with all that chasing around, or he could set his eyes on the Lord and call to the only one who could actually help. Jesus knows how to help you find your second wind!
If you have stepped, purposefully or mistakenly, if you have stepped into a situation which wounds your conscience and causes you to lose your relish for righteous things, don’t hide yourself away. Run, i said, run to Jesus and tell it all to Him. It’s not like He doesn’t know and doesn’t see, He’s just waiting on you to bring it all to His healing place. Don’t think for a minute you can just hide it away in your heart … as if in the long run you think it doesn’t make any difference. Everything matters. Hidden sin will eat your lunch…maybe not today, but undealt with junk is just that, undealt with junk. Run to Jesus and tell Him all about it, never let it hide. Reconciling and resolving our wounded conscience and bad choosings should be to God’s glory and our testimony of His delivering power, not a shame to us which drives us indoors to shut our blinds, drawing our curtains, becoming isolated and alone in the dark. i can say from experience, when left to ourselves, alone with secrets, isolated and in the dark with shame to keep us company …. we are in bad company.
When viscious circumstances occur in our lives, and they will occur, that is not the time to hide away, that is the time to turn up the heat, pedal to the metal, being in hot pursuit of the Lord, calmly, methodically, with focus and all power….run to Jesus.