The nature of “longings”…and digging deeper
Hello and happy mid-week to you all <3
As I continue to mull over the subject matter from our first week of material and repeat back to myself various things I said in class…
because…
this mind is on constant replay…
which can be soooooooooo frustrating for others around me who have actually allowed their minds to move forward.
I am beginning to look differently at those wistful “longings” that can grip a soul in the middle of the day or night…
in traffic…
sitting around the table with a group of friends…
just about anytime or anywhere.
Am I alone, or do you also sometimes find yourself in the course of an ordinary day kind of realizing that …
HEY! Wait a minute…
I am “without” that thing…
maybe it’s a relationship…
or an accomplishment…
a gift or talent…
a “blessing”…
that someone else seems to have.
Something that I wanted and prayed for and worked my part to achieve…
or I blew my chances at it and suddenly I realize it is never going to happen
and now..
nothing.
Nothing but a longing.
That deep thing in the pit of you that casts its shadow over everything else.
It’s what drove the Prodigal Son to ask for his inheritance and set out seeking something better.
It’s what kept his brother outside and excluded from his father’s happiness as he smoldered in bitterness that he had missed all the fun.
And as we discovered on Sunday, it’s all part of God’s plan.
Not to make us miserable.
But to make us realize that everything we long for can only be found in Him.
As I apply the teaching from Sunday to my every day life, I am beginning to shine a God-light on those wistful thoughts as they arise.
Rather than dwell on the thoughts, I am learning to ask God to show me what it is I am really longing for…
relevance?
relational depth?
significance?
assurance?
security?
And then take that longing to Him and ask Him to fill it as only He can.
There is no shame or guilt for having longings.
God placed those in us to point us to Him.
So let’s not medicate…
nor placate…
nor patronize…
nor ignore…
nor exalt,,,
our longings.
Let’s not them allow them to drive us out into a far country seeking something that we feel we missed out on.
Let us, instead, turn to Christ and spread them out before Him.
Let us be people who seek transformation that is found only in a real and honest relationship with the only One who knows and understands us, as we…
journey onward <3