Deep Longings

 

I know the right things to do within my life. I can maturely process my emotions. I know what gets to me. I know what I love to do for ME!

Yet, a part of me still places my future happiness on other people, places, and situations, and I can become anxious or disappointed when my hope in them is dashed.

Maybe for you the longing for a spouse is overwhelming or even excruciating. Or maybe it’s a longing for a child. The pain has been real every month when you’ve tried your best to do what’s recommended.

Maybe it’s a job, a bill of good health, or a new stage or milestone in life. And maybe you, too, know all the “right things” to say, do, and think to bear the disappointment, while you remember that our hope comes from and is in the Lord alone.

But when the ache is deep, the wait is long, and God seems so distant and far away, to whom, what, or where should we turn? I read this from David’s writings in Psalm 42:7, "Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." He must have been having a rough day – just like we do from time to time.

I know this. The Lord is mightier than the noise of the many stormy waters. He always brings calm to our storms. In the first chapter of Jeremiah, God reminds us that nothing will ever love, satisfy, or fulfill us but Him.

He knows how much we want to be completely devoted to Him. And He knows all we aspire to do, to have and to accomplish. He lovingly reminds us that, “I, the LORD, alone probe the mind and test the heart.” (Jeremiah 17:10) He knows us more than we know ourselves, and He is fully aware of our needs.

My dear friends, you are in my heart today. So much so, that I want to encourage you to trust your deepest desires, longings, yearnings, aches, pains, and timelines into the hands of God. He is knowledge itself, and He knows what He is doing.

As we call out to God from our deep need and longings, He answers back from the depth of His all-sufficient power. Always remember – God is in control of us AND He knows best! Trust Him.