Longings

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 

Psalm 73:25  

There was a time of prayer being held after a luncheon at our church recently. People had shared needs and then my husband called for a time of silent reflection and asked us to listen to the Lord.  There it came, the word...longings. The Spirit was showing me my longings were messed up.

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” 

Proverbs 13:12 

What is it about the Christmas season that makes us so melancholy.  I've longed for Christmases long, long ago. To decorate the tree with my father, just the two of us, a bowl of popcorn and a Shirley Temple. To sit on the steps waiting for the "go ahead" into the living room and see the packages under the tree.  The longing for my three much older siblings to come home and fill the house with their stories and their babies. (I became an aunt at ten years old.)

Looking through old family photos of our own six little ones in matching pajamas all cuddled up like a litter of puppies, so excited about their gifts, leaves me in disbelief how quickly the years fly. The same is true of our grandchildren. I long for the Christmases when they gathered here and there was so much festivity. Okay, total chaos!

But as we were praying at church the Lord laid upon my heart that He is the One I am to long for first. 

At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.  Isaiah 26:9

Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.John 6:27

Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  Psalm 57:8-10 

                                                                                   
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:5-8

Our early longings aren't necessarily wrong.  The restlessness deep within us compels us to long for someone to love us, want us, understand us and find us valuable. We desire for a spouse, for children, grandchildren, homes, jobs, then when we get those we long for better ones!. God wired us to have longings and for these longings to draw us into an intimate relationship with him, the One who holds the solutions. For He is the One who created us, loves us, and understands us (better than we understand ourselves). He finds us VERY valuable, for it is He who created us with a purpose.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?  Psalm 42:1-2 

David, a man after God's own heart prays a prayer we can make our own:

Hear my cry, O God;Give heed to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to Thee, when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.                                                                                                        For Thou hast been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.                                        Let me dwell in Thy tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Thy wings

PSALM 61:1-4 

The Songs

As the Deer Pants 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rrXC5uKVb4

It’s about the Cross  The Ball Brothers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGL9DT_Oqzo