We were standing in a big circle around the pitcher’s mound. Just a few moments after finishing a competitive, if not overly athletic, game of church-league softball. As is customary in church-league softball, we ended with a prayer. This particular evening, we were specifically praying for a young man who had been arrested on child pornography charges and who was sitting in a jail cell on suicide watch while we played a silly game of pitch and catch.

It was a somber end to the evening. My heart was broken for this guy. I didn’t know him. Still don’t know his entire story. But it was so devastating and sad. One of the members of the team we had just finished playing led the prayer. And the way he started it really struck me. He acknowledged that God is “chasing us in ways we don’t even realize.” I’ll stop right there. I didn’t hear anything else he had to say. I’m sure the rest of his prayer was really elegant and theologically sound. But that picture he painted of God chasing us, chasing me, completely flooded over me.

I often think of it this way. God is always there, ready for a relationship with us. But we tend to run away or wander off. Or refuse to move closer to Him. Whatever our misguided path happens to be. And while it is very comforting to think about God patiently waiting for us, not moving, but holding firm and still, it is even more comforting to imagine Him actively pursuing us. All the while we are wandering or running, He is chasing us from behind, yearning to be closer to us and to be in closer relationship with us.

I pictured this young man, who obviously took a horribly wrong turn in his life. Who knows what the history or background or context is. The reason behind his actions. Whether he is remorseful. What exactly he did. Whether he knows Jesus. What a beautiful picture to imagine God racing toward him, chasing him, even as he sits in that cell, on the verge of total collapse. Even then, God is God, and God is actively and genuinely in pursuit of his heart.

I am praying for this young man tonight. Even as I write this. And I am praising God for his relentless pursuit of us. Of course, I could make it easier and stop running already. But in the meantime, it feels really good to think that God doesn’t just wait on me, but chases after me. No matter how terribly I veer off course.  Chasing me in ways I don’t even realize.