I find myself longing for a lot these days. Our family is living at my mom’s house since my husband is between jobs and I find myself longing for my own space, longing for work, longing for community. Maybe you relate to these longings. We’ve all experienced some form of longing in our life. But are we longing for God?
I immediately think of the summer, when ‘ve been outside with the kids, gardening, going on a walk, or just sitting in the shade. Because of the heat of summer, my whole body longs for and craves a cool, refreshing glass of water. I think of the hardships others face in many countries where they walk for miles with the sun beating down on them to gather just enough water for the day only to do it again tomorrow. I don’t want to make light their struggle here, but sometimes living in a bountifully blessed country like America we lose sight of what the Psalmist means when he writes:
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1, ESV
and
As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God
Psalm 42:1, NLT
What are we missing?
In America, when we long for something, we don’t have to wait too long to have what we want. If we want something for dinner, there’s usually a store or a restaurant just a couple miles away. When we are in need, we can click “buy now” online and it’s delivered to our door in a matter of days. And in the midst of a summer heat wave, most of us have clean water right at the kitchen sink. We don’t truly understand what it means to thirst or long for anything.
I believe this effected our faith, our prayer life, and our relationship with God.
Like the Psalmist, we should be longing for God like we would long for or thirst for water in a dry land. But why don’t we?
Sometimes fear stops us.
Insecurities stop us.
Often times, our own provision and comfort stop us. If we have no need how could we long for God to provide? Why would we long for a healer if we’re never sick? If we don’t see our sin, why would we long for a savior?
Where does a longing for God come from?
Longing for God is birthed in experience and grown in discipline.
Experience gives way to Longing
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8, ESV
When we experience something good, we are filled with a longing for that same thing again. That’s why I love this verse in Psalm 34 where David is writing a song of praise and he says in verse 8 to taste and see that God is good. David had experienced the goodness of God and his desire is for the rest of the Israelite nation to experience God’s goodness too.
My kids have all gone through a phase in life where they become really picky. It usually starts around age 2 or 3 and lasts for about 2 years. In those years when we sit down for dinner I pretty much know someone is going to complain. “I don’t like it” they would say to something new. My husband and I would be dumbfounded – how could someone know they don’t like something they’ve never tried. Usually when my kids taste a bite of their dinner they exclaim with a huge smile that this is now their new favorite food. Their experience gave way to longing. Just a few weeks ago my 6 year old told me that we should have salad more often, even for desert. Why? Because he tasted it, realized he liked it, and now wants more of it.
Longing for God is grown through discipline.
If we never ate salad again my kids would forget they liked it. This happens almost every year with soup. Over the summer my kids forget that soup exists. They love separating their food on their plate. But in the fall I have to ease them back into liking soups again because they forgot that they liked what they tasted last year.
Discipline gives way to desire. When we want to form a new habit, we have to discipline ourselves to regularly practice. Once those new habits are formed we often enjoy them, or long to do them.
I’m convinced no one likes to run. But those who discipline themselves often find themselves longing for their next good run. Maybe they crave the solitude or the methodical nature, or the feeling of placing one foot steadily and quickly after another.
If you start waking up early your body will eventually start waking you up when or even right before your alarm goes off, but what happens when you sleep in? It may feel good at first but often you feel you missed out on part of your day and you end up longing for that time you missed.
What About God?
The same is true of our relationship with God. When we discipline ourselves to be in his presence (through prayer, Bible reading and study, etc) we begin to encounter Him more. If we miss our time with Him we feel that void and feel a deeper sense of longing for Him. As we long for Him and fulfill our longing with His presence, He will guide us in discipling our children to Him.
When press in to God despite our doubts or insecurities or circumstances we encounter the author of creation, the giver of life, the sustainer, the healer, the helper, the friend we need, our savior, our deliverer, our teacher, and the light in our darkness. When we discipline ourselves to spending time in God’s presence we experience increased longing for more of Him.
I pray our lives will be marked with a longing for God, a desire for His presence and faith that compels us to pursue Christ’s presence in our lives.
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