I read a book recently titled “How To Be A God Chaser and a Kid Chaser” written by Tommy Tenny and his mom, T. F. Tenny. It is basically a book about pursuing your relationship with the Lord whilst having family responsibilities. As I read, the use of the word ‘chase’ intrigued me. Why is following God a chase? What characteristic of Chase is mimicked in our walk with the Lord?

The definition of the word ‘chase’ for the purposes of this series is “to pursue in order to catch or catch up with.” A chase is different from a run and is also not the same as a race. The purpose of a running is to get to a place faster and the purpose of a race is to determine superiority in whatever discipline or cause of action – whoever gets to the finishing line first. A chase differs because there is no competition to determine who is the strongest or the fastest. A place is not important in a chase but rather a person or whatever the pursuit is. For instance, when a dog begins to chase after a cock, he does not care where the cock goes to. His focus is on the cock and where the cock goes, it goes. We are going to look at some characteristics or features of a chase.

• The Object Of Pursuit
  A chase is not really one without an object of pursuit. I could say that this feature is the most important in a chase. This is because the value you place on the object of pursuit determines the intensity of the pursuit. When that missing element is important to you, you will chase after it. There are many things that can become the object of our pursuit. It becomes your prize and trophy when you catch it.
  The most common ones are God, money, career or even a lovely woman you have purposed to win at all cost. These things, one way or the other, will determine the course of life that we will pass through. As already mentioned, in a chase, the path or place you are led to does not matter but the object of pursuit. It is then safe to say that we must choose our object of pursuit wisely.
• Focus
  A different term for focus is to “set your heart” as the Bible puts it in Colossians 3. It is to be totally fixed on a specific point. In the animal kingdom, when a predator such as a cheetah or lioness is in a hunt, she looks for a specific prey. She singles out her prey, such as a deer, out of the whole herd and begins her chase. When she begins, the whole herd begins to run but she only zones in on that one deer. She will follow that deer throughout the landscape. Even to the point of crossing rivers just to get hold of that deer. She had many options but chose one to chase after. That is focus. A chase becomes fruitless without focus because the chaser is easily distracted. He will end up achieving nothing.

• Determination
  Another feature of a chase is determination. This feature is usually seen in a race as well. Determination is to be firm or have a fixed intention to achieve a desired end. Without determination, a chase may end up being just a sprint because one can easily give up. Determination is a strength of the mind. It goes together with focus – having a fixed intention to achieve a desired end. Because our lioness is determined on catching that deer, nothing will deter her. Her focus and determination will get her her prize.
• Strength & Endurance
  Sprinting requires strength. The strength to run fast till the end of the race. It has an end and you need strength for that space in time. A chase on the other hand has no defined end. It ends when the object of pursuit is caught or the pursuer gives up or dies. Therefore, a chase requires strength not just strength but endurance as well. A chase may require one’s whole life to run. Thus, the requirement of persistent and consistent effort in order to achieve its goal. A chaser cannot be weak, he may lose the object of his pursuit. Even in his weakness, he must keep moving.

There’s a name in the Old Testament that whenever I think of it, I associate with a chase. He was a man of war, he and his two brothers. As a nephew of the King David, he fought the Lord’s battles. He was one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:24). This guy was the fastest runner in David’s army, possibly in the whole of Israel.

“Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was as fleet of foot as a wild gazelle. So Asahel pursued Abner, and in going he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him and said, “ Are you Asahel?” He answered, “I am. ” And Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and lay hold on one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. So Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I face your brother Joab?” However, he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear, so that the spear came out of his back; and he fell down there and died on the spot. So it was that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.”
‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭2:18-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

There was a fierce battle going on between the houses of Saul and David – a power struggle for the throne of Israel. In 2 Samuel 2, the armies of both houses met and had a one-on-one battle with bloody results but the army of the house of Saul was severely beaten. So much so that their commander, Abner begun to run away. Asahel, being the fastest among David’s men, took up the chase.
When Abner realized he was being chased by Asahel, he begun to discourage Asahel from following him. He asked him to pursue someone else, to turn his attention to another object. “But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.” Even the threat of death could not deter the young man. Asahel, “however, he refused to turn aside.” The only thing that could stop Asahel was death. Abner knew it was only a matter of time before Asahel caught up with him. He stopped him the only way he could stop the chase – he killed Asahel.

“however, he refused to turn aside.”

Asahel had an object of pursuit – the commander of the Army of the House of Saul, the King’s enemy. He was so focused that he wasn’t dissuaded by Abner’s suggestions of ‘easier’ pursuits and threats of death. He was ready to go on the full chase till he obtained his prize. He was focused. He was determined and He endured.

The God of creation has been on a chase for the hearts of humans for centuries. The heart of man has been His pursuit and His most treasured prize. He has been persistent in His call for hearts. He has been determined to lay hold of this treasure. God has been a man-chaser from the beginning of time. He longs for us, the object of his pursuit, to become the pursuer where we turn around and pursue His heart. Not so that He can hide from us but that we may catch Him, that He may become our most treasured prize.

In this series of Chasers, we look at different aspects of this God-Man Chase and how we can become pursuers of God. Follow us in our journey through this series. Stay blessed and prepped for the chase – it’s about to begin.

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