The Source of our Longings

Have you ever wondered where your longings come from? I mean the ones beyond simply hunger and thirst, the desire to go to the bathroom urgently or for a McDonalds Milkshake. I mean longings like the you feel when listening to Jazz music, or how you feel after certain movies. Those desires can be strong in the moment but they quickly fade. Yet they seem to whisper of something deeper. 

I believe that our deepest longings betray our desperate need for God, that we are broken. But they also reveal that our God is the ultimate source and fulfillment of our longings. One longing in my heart that I notice now and then is for the final restoration of all things. I believe my longing for such a thing is evidence that one day all things will be made new. I really believe that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth. I believe that God will sit on His throne with all of humanity before Him and He will satisfy justice. And everything will be good and right once more. I believe this because it has been recorded but I also believe this because it is the desire of my heart. I believe God put that desire in each of our hearts. Just as hunger leads to eating, and thirst leads to drinking, hope too must be satisfied. Or else we die.

When I lived in Steinbach I did not have lots of hope. Everything seemed well in my circles. Now that I live in Winnipeg I have lots of hope, because there is so much for which to hope! When I pray for healing of my neighbourhood, or for a restoration of virtue, or for the light of the glory of the knowledge of God to invade all of our hearts, I am basically asking Jesus to come back and make all things new. I long for the Kingdom of God to come to my neighbourhood in such a way that nobody could argue about it. And when I meet people face to face, talk with them, and hear tiny snippets of their stories that longing for the Kingdom of God to come is magnified. And so my longing for Jesus to come back is also magnified. I am confident that our God who gives us longings, yearns to satisfy our longings. And so I am also confident that the greater our longings the greater will be our satisfaction once our longings are satisfied.

God, increase our hunger, increase our desperation. Come LORD Jesus.