A Soul That Craves the Father’s Heart

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“There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word, spiritual strength for labour in His service. We ought to muse upon the things of God because we thus get the real nutriment out of them…”

Charles Spurgeon

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A couple days ago one of the kids in my class at work (I work at a daycare) was being quieter than usual. Concerned that maybe he wasn’t feeling well, I asked him what was wrong. In response he simply said, “I’m having a quiet moment. I hear my thoughts better that way.”

I’m ever amazed at how children seem to so naturally grasp certain biblical concepts that the rest of us take years to relearn and remember. As we have entered this beautiful month of August, I have been challenged to quiet my heart, like these dear little ones, and truly meditate on who God is.

I long to seek Him more earnestly because that is what He longs for me.

And in those moments of silent reverie for who He is and all He’s done…that is where we find the glimpses of heaven in earthly places.

Thirsting for Life-Giving Water

“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”

– Psalm 42:1

I think the more deeply we desire God, the more overwhelmed we are by Him. And so we should be! There are no words to tell, no picture to show, no feeling to express the majesty of our Creator. He is beautiful. A kind of beauty we will never fully grasp in this lifetime – maybe not even in Heaven. I don’t know. All I know is that He is simply wonderful. And our souls burn more deeply when it is He whom we thirst for. 

“…One of the main reasons people do not understand or experience the sovereignty of grace and the way it works through the awakening of sovereign joy is that their hunger and thirst for God is so small.”

– John Piper

How true the above quote is. I have seen it displayed in my own life countless times. If I am not hungering and thirsting for God relentlessly – recklessly, even – my understanding of who He is will be small. It is when we most deeply desire Him that He most clearly reveals Himself to us.

Let us pray for a genuine longing in our souls that only He can satisfy. And He will. Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” I want to be satisfied by Him. I want to live so dearly in need of Him that I can do nothing but abide in Him (John 15:1-11).

May God look at my life and see a soul that craves the Father’s heart.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So, I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So, I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”

– Psalm 63:1-4

Marveling the Creator

“I remember the days of old; [and] I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.”

– Psalm 143:5-6

Many of my dearest moments in my relationship with God have been in meditating on and pondering all that He has done. There is such beauty in that “still.” Such breathtaking enlightenment on the Father’s heart and life’s purpose in Him has taken place in those quiet places. Much like the little boy at the daycare I work at, it is good to be silent if only to let the mind wander.

You will likely be amazed at the questions you didn’t know you had about God and yourself and life and worldview when you merely take the time to notice them. Chances are, you’ll find a little philosopher deep down when you start to pay more attention to the birdsongs and seasons changing around you. If that sounds wonderful, imagine those same moments focused entirely on your Creator.

Allow your mind to escape this mere breath for just a moment and simply ponder God.

You will find a glimpse of His heart there.

Long For the Love of the Father’s Heart

“I did not love God, God knows, because I was some sort of saint or hero. [And] I did not love him because I suddenly saw the light […] I loved him because I couldn’t help myself. I loved him because the one who commands us to love is the one who also empowers us to love, as there in the wilderness of that dark and terrible time I was, through no doing of my own, empowered to love him at least a little, a least enough to survive. And in the midst of it, these small things happened that were as big as heaven and earth because through them a hope beyond hopelessness happened…”

– Frederick Buechner

I love the above quote because it reminds of the beauty that comes from loving God fully. When we sincerely love Him with our entire being, it not only delights His heart, but it blesses ours. Because there is a certain understanding of who He is and perspective of His heart that comes only through leaning into His love and loving Him in return.

“Essentially and basically, hell is separation from God. It is “the second death,” which is described as banishment from the presence of all that is joyous, good, righteous, and happy.“

– Billy Graham

Humans crave belonging. We crave acceptance and we crave love. So, ultimately, whether we realize it or not…we crave God. The Bible makes it clear that God is love (1 John 4:8). Perfect love…unlike anything we will ever otherwise see, experience, or know. I want to long for that love. Because that love is the beauty of eternity with Him. It is a breath of truth and value and real in a world that is falling apart.

So let us seek to love Him more…because that is the delight of His heart. And there is nothing more satisfying for our hearts than seeking His.

May our souls ever crave the Father’s heart.