"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)

Your heart is always chasing something. That is how God made you. You were designed to pursue, to desire, to hunger. The question is not whether you will chase something. The question is what you will chase. Most people spend their whole lives chasing things that can never satisfy them. Then they wonder why they still feel empty inside.

The world has trained you to chase the wrong things. It says chase money and you will feel secure. Chase success and you will feel valuable. Chase comfort and you will feel happy. Chase people's approval and you will feel loved. So you chase and chase and chase. You get the promotion, the house, the relationship, the status. And for a moment it feels good. Then the emptiness comes back and you start chasing again.

This is exactly what Colossians 3:1 warns us about. Paul says, "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is." The word "set your hearts" means to actively pursue something. It means to chase after it with everything you have. Paul is telling you that your heart will chase something. So make sure you are chasing things above, not earthly things. When your priorities are not reframed around God, you keep asking earthly things to satisfy you. Only Jesus can fill the deepest hunger in your soul.

The psalmist understood what true hunger looks like. He compared his soul to a deer desperate for water. A deer does not casually look for water. A deer in the desert pants for it, needs it, will die without it. That is how the psalmist described his need for God. Not "it would be nice to spend time with God today." But "my soul is dying of thirst without Him." When was the last time you wanted God like that?

Here is the hard question you need to ask yourself. What do you actually hunger for right now? What fills your thoughts when your mind is free to wander? What gets you excited when you wake up? What crushes you when you lose it? Be honest. Your true hunger shows your real priorities. Colossians 3:1 says set your hearts on things above. But if you are hungry for earthly things more than God, you need a reframe.

Godseekers, God wants to reframe your pursuit completely. He is not asking you to stop wanting things. He is asking you to want Him most. When you set your heart on things above like Colossians 3:1 commands, earthly things fall into their right place. You can enjoy your job without needing it to define you. You can have money without it controlling you. You can love people without demanding they complete you. Same life, different hunger, everything changes. That is what reframing your priorities does.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I confess that I have been hungry for the wrong things. I have chased earthly stuff expecting it to satisfy my soul. Forgive me for treating Your gifts like they were You. Create in me a deep hunger for You above everything else. Help me want You the way a thirsty deer wants water. Reframe my heart so that I pursue things above, not earthly things, just like Colossians 3:1 says. Satisfy my soul with Your presence today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Personal Reflection

1. If someone watched what you actually pursue with your time and energy, what would they say you are truly hungry for?
2. What earthly thing have you been expecting to satisfy you that only God can satisfy?

Step of Faith

Today, I will spend time with God before I check my phone, and I will honestly tell Him what I have been chasing instead of Him.