“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for.” (1)
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Have you ever wanted some “thing” so much that you pursued it with persistence and perseverance, expended a great deal of time and energy and, perhaps, money into seeking a way to have it– only to discover that when you finally obtained it, you lost that feeling of really needing or even wanting it? In a short time, the item might be stuffed away in a closet, unused and forgotten, eventually ending up in a garage sale. “I have it now, so what’s the next ‘thing’ that gives me the same feeling of want and desire because I don’t have it yet?”
What we desire and want say a lot about us. How we pursue those things also speaks volumes. These are physical, observable wants, but what is really special to us and what we truly “ache for” may be hidden in a solitary quest of the heart and soul, only seen by God, El Roi, Who sees all.
“What makes something special is not just what you have to gain but what you feel there is to lose.”(2) Something that is very special goes beyond the “gain” of merely having it– to the “ache” of loss without it.
What do we truly “ache for?” Do we have an “ache” inside for Christ that is such a special desire and a want that we would do anything to never lose Him? Would we pursue a relationship with God at a greater degree of persistence and perseverance, giving our time in abundance, for such a yearning in our hearts and souls for Him?
The scriptures speak to this ache and yearning for the Lord, our God:
Isaiah 26:9 My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. . .
Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 63:1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Psalm 143:6 I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.
John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
John 7:37-38 37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, He cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me, 38 and let the one who believes in Me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
What we earnestly seek, we will find, if it is in God. What we find, we will hold dear in the God-given soul that aches for Him and longs to be with Him eternally.
Thank you, Lord, for this God-ache within us that yearns for You. Only in You can we fulfill all our wants, our desires, and our needs. Only in You, can we find true satisfaction and peace. Amen.
(1) Oriah Mountain Dream, poet
(2) Andre Agassi, tennis pro
(Sharon G. Tate blog : teacherforjesus.com) Meditations on God’s Word