An Answer?
The reason one of the quotes I used in my last post rang so deeply with me was that it pointed to something I’ve been pondering deep in my heart for a while:
“but I felt as if this were an unearthly consummation of my happiness, that never had been meant to be, and never could have been.”
In other words, is the deep desire and longing that pervades my life at times actually a normal part of the Christian experience, that I am supposed to accept? Is it part of the knowledge of God and Heaven that is within me? Is it actually a good thing and not a bad one? Is seeking to fulfill or stop it actually a bad thing?
Is it part of the curse on the earth (”all creation groans in anticipation”)? Is it a bad thing we hang our heads under, but endure nevertheless?
Or is it a curse that can be lifted, and we should fight it with the tools God gives us, rather than living in bondage to it?
Or is it part of our tie with Christ? Our feeling in our bones the same longing that He has felt? A blessing and badge of honor that we should be proud of?
Then there was this post by the person I consider my second best friend next to my wife:
http://www.xanga.com/Krash2Fly/592955260/longing.html?nextdate=last
What do you think?
Posted 5/25/2007 11:00 AM
3 Comments:
You don’t know me. But here is my opinion on what you wrote. I think that we all to often as Christians think that the longings that God gave us are something to be ashamed of. And then we do walk around with our heads hang down. But I think that it is a blessing from God because that helps us understand Jesus longings. God gave us feelings for a reason and that is exactly how he intended for them to be used. They should be a badge of honor because it helps us to understand Christ love and desire to save us. So yes they are something we should be proud of.
Posted 5/26/2007 9:32 AM by Tinleg
Psalm 27
4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek [4] my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.” [5]
9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
This scripture really made me think of you. The writer’s heart, and desire for God, his seeking after God’s will, and his deep cry to the Lord for Him to answer. In the midst of all this, the writer also has hope and worships the Lord with great joy, recounting His Salvation, and he ends by reminding himself to take courage and wait for the Lord. There aren’t necessarily any answers to your questions here, but at least we can see that these feeling you are experiencing have been felt by other men of God, and, because of Scripture we know, that God did honor and answer these cries. 
God has really placed you on my heart through all this, and I will be praying for you.
Your sister in Christ,
~Jessica
PS: Micah’s post rocks, and I’ll have to respond to it on his web page.
Posted 5/26/2007 12:02 PM by Tegwenava
Is not the petition of the Lord’s prayer like this? “Thy kingdom come….” Who can say that God has answered this prayer? Yet God is answering it, and we keep asking, pursuing, longing, groaning.
“Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”
Posted 5/26/2007 2:15 PM by jonathan_camenisch
