"Go hard or go home!" is a phrase commonly recited in sports settings. I STILL use it a seek to motivate myself to train hard -- still brutally hard even -- in the gym. It means to leave it all on the field; to hold nothing back; to be "all in" for Christ.
And it was one of my mottos as a cop (I wanted -- and still want -- to do all I can to catch the bad guys while protecting my fellow officers and the public I'm sworn to serve). And now I'm the same way in ministry (yes, it is about 3 AM and I have to get up in less than 3 hours). In fact, I've no doubt shortened my life and negatively impacted my health because getting decent rest has not always been possible or a priority (realistically, it has to be -- even our Lord rested).
That all being said, this same concept does in fact apply to our walk as Christians. God is calling us to follow HARD after Him; to be "ALL IN" for Him. Is that you?
So what does that look like biblically? Psalm 63 serves as a foundational verse for us in this (and the KJV perhaps cites it best): "My soul followeth hard after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me." (added emphasis mine)
And our Lord understood this personally as well. Jesus, in His earthly ministry: worked HARD for us (He was often exhausted). He prayed HARD (so much so that he sweated blood knowing the agony He was about to face on our behalf). And He endured HARD (horrific) torture and the HARDest of deaths for you and I.
Moreover, He gave us what can be a hard command (one of many) -- one that REQUIRES the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (a power and presence available ONLY to the born again believer) to accomplish:
“'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
(Luke 10:27)
Those who follow me on social media know that I'm a big fan of A.W. Tozer. Bro. Tozer understood well the concept of following hard after God. So important was it to him that he wrote a whole book on (a short but powerful one) that I recommend highly: The Pursuit of God (the free, YouTube audiobook version -- you can listen to the whole book in under 4 hours).
So what then is the message for us here? What does it mean to follow hard after God? To be "all in" for Him?
Essentially, it means to yearn for deeper and deeper fellowship with Him. It means to seek whole-heartedly an ever-increasing intimacy with Him. And then to be used mightily by Him.
When we became Christians through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, God himself took up permanent residence in our lives in the Person of his Holy Spirit. However, the reception of God at conversion is not the end but the beginning of the Christian life. On the contrary, it is not the end but the beginning of knowing God.
In saying, “My soul follows hard after you”, David draws a picture of a hunter and his quarry. Indeed, in this picture, David is the hunter and God is the quarry. David says, “Lord God, I, with my whole being, closely pursue you!”
Other scriptural uses of the expression “follow hard” reveal exactly what David meant in Psalm 63. In 1 Samuel 14, for example, we learn that, due to Jonathan’s bravery, the Philistines were retreating in disarray; and when the men of Israel heard of it, they came out of hiding and “followed hard after them in battle” (22). The NIV says that the Israelites “joined the battle in hot pursuit.” The same term is used concerning King Saul during his final battle: “the Philistines followed hard upon Saul”, “the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him” (1 Samuel 31:2; 2 Samuel 1:6). They sped after him for all they were worth, following his every twist and turn (in much the same way we pursue violent offenders). And David of course went hard after Goliath (under the covering of the Holy Spirit).
This is the picture that David presents us: he was hot on the heels of God. He was pursuing God with all his might, soul and strength (a "Code 3" -- lights and siren -- sense of urgency). He was determined to draw near to God in order to know, love and enjoy him to the fullest.
David’s pursuit of God was not passive or easy. It was active and hard. Likewise today, those who would follow hard after God must pursue Him with all the energies of their will and intellect and emotion.
Let's briefly look at 3 points (the 3 "E's") to help bring this home:
(1) Following hard after God involves EARNESTNESS.
At the beginning of Psalm 63 David declares, “O God, you are my God; earnestly will I seek you”. David was intensely serious and sincere in his desire for God. The apostle Paul was similarly zealous in his desire for our Savior: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). The pursuit of God must be motivated and facilitated by a "Code 3" eagerness and earnestness.
(2) Following hard after God also involves EXERTION.
When we train, pursue an offender, or even our spouses (another analogy) we must either exert fully -- to press on -- or give up the chase (sadly, our current situation in law enforcement has all but stripped us of the ability to pursue offenders).
Likewise after routing the Midianites, Gideon and his God-commissioned 300 warriors chased God's enemies over great distances. Scripture says, “And Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, faint yet pursuing” (Judges 8:4). They had used up all their strength in the pursuit, yet still they followed after! At some time or other, this describes every Christian who follows hard after God and yes, those of us who serve in our God-ordained profession (Romans 13:1-4) of law enforcement as well: faint yet pursuing still.
(3) And finally for this study, following hard after God involves ENDURANCE.
We must not quit or give up. To, in the words of Eliot Ness in the Untouchables, "Never stop fighting till the fight is done." We must stay in the fight and persevere even when the distance between God and ourselves sometimes seems to widen. We must press on even when we seem to lose sight of Him altogether (rest assured, for those of us who are "in Christ," He will NEVER leave or us forsake us -- Hebrews 13:5. Deut. 31:6). But we must not quit. And yes, we must TRAIN hard (Psalm 144:1) -- which includes regularly spending time with Him in prayer, in His Word (the Bible) and fellowship with other believers -- in order to have the endurance to finish strong in Him.
To follow hard after God means to pursue Him closely through the twisting streets of life. This close pursuit reflects and requires Holy Spirit-powered earnestness, exertion and endurance.
So do you have that? Friend, this can only occur when we are first radically born again in Him alone (John 3:1-21, 14:6). If that does not describe you today, I can't encourage you enough to scroll down to the KNOW GOD? section below. And if you DO know Christ as Lord and Savior but are not following hard after Him (ALL IN), then repent, draw close to Him again and get back in the fight.
"Go hard or go home" indeed!
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KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you hold to an utterly false hope that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "good" cop or a "good person"? That you can be "good" enough without knowing Christ as Lord and Savior? That mere "belief" is enough to "save" you (as our Lord, through James, tells us, "...even the demons believe, and tremble" -- James 2:19)? That you somehow "deserve" heaven because of your so-called "good" and honorable service in law enforcement? Take the Good Person Test and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly adult ministry included, "Repent and believe in the Good News..." (Mark 1:15). To repent is a "180" -- a complete, radical change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (pisteuo in the original Greek -- a different word than James used in James 2:19) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and surrender your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to on a combat jump (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(3) This same concept of "believe" (the saving kind) is further revealed in John 3:1-21 where Jesus says, "... you must be born again." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "must" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"). Friends, this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see What does it mean to be a born again Christian?). HINT: there is no other kind.
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from Maj. Travis Yates: Cops and Salvation.
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also vital in dealing with the issues that contribute to police suicide, PTSi and more. Click on, Now what?
MC
