I am sitting still with my Bible open in front of me, and I begin to notice… that pain. Pain? Well, It’s a place in my heart that is hungry and is not easily satisfied. It hurts but not like a broken toe. It wants to be recognized and yet it doesn’t want to be recognized. It screams, silently. If left to my own devices, I just keep running and keep doing and keep finding ways to not have to think about it. And I don’t think it’s a pain that is unique to me.
I think that’s why we have “quiet times,” these times when we followers of Jesus pull apart to read the scriptures and meditate on them. To look at our lives from God’s perspective, to pray and to ask him for wisdom. It’s that time alone with Papa that I have a choice to run into him or the run away from him. Psalm 18:10 says “the name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run into him and are safe.” I know I have spent a lot of my life trying to protect myself and when I discovered that I didn’t have to, that I could let God protect me, it still took a long time to really trust that truth, even imperfectly.
This time alone, preferably in the morning, is where I get to focus on what’s really important and Abba is really important. My relationship with Him and my relationships with other people are what make life.
This set aside time is where the re-alignment of my brain and my heart takes place. Here I sort out the concerns of my life and I put them all on the altar before the God who created me, who loves me, who knows why He created me. I was created in love and for love. Because of that, my heavenly father is motivated to help me become all that he created me to be.
When I yield all of me and all of my concerns to him, it’s amazing how that place in me that feels empty and sore begins to fill. Not with more pain, but it fills with a tender warmth and a satisfaction and approval that only comes from our Creator. There, in His strong tower, I find the peace, the rest, the satisfaction and the confidence that I need to fulfill my purpose for this hour for this day, and by God’s grace, over time, for my entire life and full destiny.
How do you fill that place of longing in your life?
Abba, Thank You for making me unique. Thank You that You are fully aware of all my longings, even more clearly than I am. Thank You that you are able to help me quiet my mind and heart so that I can have a conversation with You about what, and who, is really important in my life.
Thank You for your Holy Spirit who reminds me of Your faithfulness in my life. Thank you that Your word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of my heart. Thank You that even when I find the truth uncomfortable, You are not uncomfortable, and You deal with me with love and grace.
Thank You that I can trust You to fill my longings with good things, because You are THE good God! Thank You that I no longer need to strive, but I can allow Your peace that passes all understanding to guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. I choose to trust You, because You know every one of my days, even before there was one of them. Thank You that even when I do not understand, I can trust Your plans for me are not to harm me, but to give me a future and a hope.
Abba, You know my secret longings____[fill in the blank]___. I ask You to revel my next step(s) to me. Thank You that You want me to have all the desires that You placed in my heart. Show me my part and show me Your part. Grant me patience, perseverance and courage to keep my eyes firmly focused on You, the author and perfecter of my faith. Show me how to glance at the circumstances, good or bad, and continually hand them to You.
Thank You for allowing me to cast all my cares on You, because You care for me… more than I can ever grasp here in this lifetime.
