More...Longing and Satisfaction

O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness.

   I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more,

   with cravings in my heart that can’t be described.

   Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God!

I’m energized every time I enter

   your heavenly sanctuary to seek more of your power

   and drink in more of your glory.

For your tender mercies mean more to me than life itself.

   How I love and praise you, God!

Daily I will worship you passionately and with all my heart.

   My arms will wave to you like banners of praise.

I overflow with praise when I come before you,

   for the anointing of your presence satisfies me like nothing else.

   You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul.

Psalm 63:1-5 TPT

Have you ever experienced bursting a balloon because you tried to blow too much air into it? Or tried to squeeze the last ounce of soup into an already overflowing container? Or tried to push one more toy or shirt or blanket into that already overly expanded bag? Here’s the point: most things in our lives have limits. Our containers have limits. Our abilities have limits. Our physical performance has limits. But there’s one thing in our lives that has no limits. Our spirits have unlimited capacity to know God and experience His love!

My husband likes to say that God gives us eternity because that’s how long it will take us to know God. The reality is that though we are finite, God is limitless. And equally as true is that though we are finite, God gives us the capacity to have an ever expanding experiential knowledge of Him and His love.

David paints a beautiful picture of what a deep desire to know God more looks like. This is not merely knowledge about God; this is overflowing, comprehensive and intimate experience of God Himself. David demonstrates the soul’s ability to constantly access and insatiably desire more of God. I like how The Passion Translation (TPT) helps us to visualize these longings.

O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness.

I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more,

with cravings in my heart that can’t be described.

Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God! Psalm 63:1

At the same time David later concludes: “I overflow with praise when I come before you,
for the anointing of your presence satisfies me like nothing else.  You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul.” Psalm 63:5

Longing and satisfaction. Our souls need the longing for and satisfaction of God’s presence. These affections are typically placed at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Yet this psalm demonstrates that with God it is not only quite possible to experience both at the same time, it seems to indicate that experiencing both is quite necessary. Our spirits need a constant circle of longing and satisfaction to gain intimate knowledge of God and experience Him more fully. The more we experience God, the more satisfied we become with Him and the more desirable He becomes to us. The more desirable He becomes to us, the more we long for Him. The more we long for Him, the more we are able to experience Him. And so on.

David describes this phenomenon in verses 6-8:

I lie awake each night thinking of you

and reflecting on how you help me like a father.

I sing through the night under your splendor-shadow,

offering up to you my songs of delight and joy!

With passion I pursue and cling to you.

Because I feel your grip on my life,

I keep my soul close to your heart. Psalm 63:6-8

A constant circle of longing, connection and satisfaction should be the norm in our lives. What does this look like in your life? Do you experience these patterns of longing, connection and satisfaction? Have your sons observed this in your life - not as lessons given but as real life examples they feel welcome to participate in? Our experiential knowledge of God needs to be both intimately personal and expanding into our community spheres. Do you pray this for yourselves and your children? As we pray together this week let us be mindful of this expansive need in our own hearts and souls. Let us pray that our sons experience this passionately as individuals and as a community. May God enrich all our lives with more of Himself. 

More...Breakthrough

God, create a clean heart for me

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not banish me from Your presence

or take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore the joy of Your salvation to me,

and give me a willing spirit.     Psalm 51:10-12

In churches across the United States (and indeed around the world!) pastors are preaching revival, believers are praying for breakthrough. I know this is true because I’ve either been privy to this phenomenon firsthand, heard it on various podcasts or spoken with those who have observed it. God’s Holy Spirit in the hearts of His own across the world are being called to Himelf - called for deeper intimacy with Him, called to pray for and evangelize the lost, called to reconciliation, both with God and with fellow mankind. However, I know from my own heart that I am a stubborn soul. I want God. I want what He wants, at least in theory. But I also want what I want. I suspect this is true for all of us to one degree or another. It is to this end we consider David’s prayer laid out in Psalm 51.

David was clearly a passionate man. He regularly cried for more of God. Scripture tells us he had a heart that beat after God’s heart. (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) But like all of us he had a fatal flaw - he could also be found lost in his own passions from time to time. Sound familiar? David wrote Psalm 51 after he’d realized his sin in seeking a passion for himself that left God out of the picture - that of his selfish and ruthless rape of Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband Uriah. From the depths of his sin David asks God to create a heart and spirit that will mold itself to God, that will derive satisfaction from being with Him. David asks God to continue to be with him and to not count his guilt against him. (Psalm 51:10-11, 14) We know from Scripture that after David offers this prayer, God gives David what he asks for though the consequences of his sin still follow him on all sorts of levels. (Read 2 Samuel 12 and the following chapters for evidence of this.) While it doesn’t necessarily make David perfect for all time, we once again see a heart that seeks after God and one that is passionately driven to Him. Isn’t that what we desire for our own lives? Isn’t that what we desire for those whom we love?

May we remember that even as those who have been redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ we still often carry a torch for passions that fly in the face of God. Like David we need to acknowledge to God “against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight.” (Psalm 51:4a) David wasted no time admitting his guilt before Nathan the prophet and God. (2 Samuel 12:13) Let us likewise not waste time avoiding our sin. Rather confess it so that God can deal with it. Let us ask God to “create in [us] a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within [us].” (Psalm 51:10) Let us ask God to return to us the joy of our salvation and a willing spirit to be moved by the Holy Spirit. (Psalm 51:12) Furthermore, let us “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5b) Let us pray for revival - in our own lives and the lives of those who reside in our sphere of influence - our families, friends, colleagues and churches.

May God receive the glory!!!