What Are You Longing For?

I used to say “I must read my Bible and pray.” I had been taught that this tandem chore was a requirement to be an obedient servant of Christ. “I have to go to church” was another statement I found myself making. After decades of failing at exercising my will, my faith crumbled and I got my bones broken (Psalm 51:8).

Now I never say “I must read my Bible and pray.” I say, “I need to spend time with the Lord.” In modern English, must and need are two very different things. I do need to spend time with the Lord – not because it’s a requirement, like I must do a chore, but because I am a human who needs water to prevent dehydration and death. I need food to prevent starvation. So going to Jesus is drinking the living water and eating the bread of life. There’s more.

I still sometimes fail to detect that I’m thirsty and choose other things over this water: social media, television, whatever – you know the score. Why am I not panting for that stream of water? Do you have that go-to thing – that drying, gooey mud puddle that does not refresh?

We need to grow beyond the need and turn it into a desire. Eating for pleasure (which we westerners have mastered for years) is much more enjoyable than eating because we’ve been starved for days or weeks and end up stuffing food into our face to live. Desire the water and bread and you’ll never thirst or hunger. What does this look like in the practical, every day world? Something like this:

You sit down to spend time with the Lord in your favourite spot. Your smart phone is there. Referencing an online Bible app turns into a Facebook or TikTok deviation. Oops. My old self would have chastened me and said, come on, put that down and read your a Bible! Pray! Let the battle of wills begin!

But no. That will end in tears. It’s not about the smart phone, or social media or any other distraction that vies for your attention. It’s about the heart. What is vying for your heart?

Here’s the rub. Instead of commanding thyself to do better, ask yourself who you love. Ask yourself who loves you. Recognise that the very real person of Jesus is with you and see if you want to spend time with Him. Can you visualise it? Who else would you rather be with? What is a better thing to do?

When we understand that it’s not about will power or doing a task, but rather, about changing our affections, it is revolutionary. This is why the Psalmist said to “delight yourself on the Lord” (Psalm 37:4). This is also why he describes being filled with joy in His presence and looking forward to eternal pleasures at His right hand (Psalm 16:11).

It’s the same reason Paul told the Philippians that he’d rather die and go home to be with the Lord than stay and keep ministering, which we know he loved (Philippians 1:23-24). Our thinking has to be that radical! We will be drawn to where our affections, delight and desires are. But how does this happen? Just thinking about it helps, yet we can’t change it by force of will. Instead we should:

1. Ask the Holy Spirit to create that desire in our hearts. That’s one of His roles (John 16:14). Interesting; this sounds like we must pray! No we need to pray. 
2. Look for Jesus and get to know him. The better we know him the more we’ll want to spend time with him. Where? In the pages of scripture. When we say “I must read my Bible” it’s out of duty. When we look for Jesus, it’s because we long to find him and be with him and get to know him. 
3. Be with his people, our family. This sounds like “go to church.” Instead, it’s more the desire to be part of His body, to ensure the other members are healthy and functioning normally because you’re not missing. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God is in your brothers and sisters. To be with them is to be with Him. 

And isn’t that what you’re longing for? 

Some other relevant scriptures: John 4, John 6, Jeremiah 2, Psalm 42