Tag Archives: seeking God

I Have Feelings for You, God!

One time I met a young woman in a book store. She was looking at books in the Christian book section. I love going to the bookstore. I gather an armload of books and sit at a table and browse through them. Truth be told I have at times read whole books at the library, oops, I mean, bookstore. It was on one of those days with my armful of books that this young woman, mistook me for someone who worked there, and asked me a question about a book to study the Bible.

She proceeded to tell me how she is beginning to study the Bible and wants to know how to get the most out of it. She has a sincere desire to know God. I offered to help her to study. We exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet.

Within a week we met and began studying. She has a craving to know God. She expressed her longing to learn as much about God as she possibly could. She wants to see God in a more real way and even, she said, to hear Him.

It is not everyday you meet someone like this girl. Inside myself, I was jumping up and down. I remember when I first began to study the Bible. I took the whole summer off from teaching and read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I was mesmerized by the Word. I had never read the Bible before and I was in absolute awe at the God I found in the pages of this book. Do you remember your first days of studying the Bible? Do you remember how eager you were to learn about God? Do you continue to have that eagerness that burning to know God?

Longing for God Looks Like This
Longing is a deep desiring; a yearning after, even a languishing for God. This longing is a yearning, a desperate desire that produces earnest seeking after God; a seeking to be in the presence of God; a seeking to be closely connected to God. The book of Psalms records various descriptions of longing for God.

Longing for God can be so intense it involves the whole body, not just the mind or emotions.

  • “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.” Ps. 63:1

In Ps. 84:2, one can almost see the psalmists whole body engaged in soulful praise to God. It is like watching a singer who is so involved in the words and music of a song that their whole face and body expresses their intensity.

  • “My soul longs, yes faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.”

At times scripture describes this longing as a hungering or thirsting for God.

  • “As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” 42:1-2
  • “I stretch out my hands to You; my soul longs for You, as a parched land…” Ps. 143:6

Longing includes a desire to be with God; to be close to Him.

  • “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.When can I go and meet with God?” 42:2
  • “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” Psalm 27:4

Longing includes desiring to see God in His Word; to know the will of God in order to please Him.
It is unusual to see someone yearning for God, longing to know Him so much that they beg to know the will of God, the commands of God.

  • “My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.” Ps. 119:20
  • “I open my mouth and pant, because I long for Your commandments.” Ps. 119:131
  • “Open my eyes, that I may may behold wonderful things from Your law.” Ps. 119:18

Longing includes a desire to know God, to see Him more clearly.
Moses had a very close walk with God. We read that Moses had the privilege of meeting with God regularly. Moses’ times with God were so real and so personal that he came away with his face glowing, literally (Ex. 34:29, 35). Yet, Moses continued to long to see God, to know him more personally. He even had the boldness to ask God to see His glory.

  • “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. . . Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.” Exodus 33:11, 18-19

Paul was a devout follower of Jesus, he did many great things for God, yet he did not settle in his relationship with God. He continually longed to know God more deeply.

  • “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.I want to know Christ….” Philippians 3: 8-10

What about Me – What about You
I want to be close to God, but I have to ask myself some hard questions.
– Do I take the time be with God by reading and meditating on His Word?
– Do I clear my mind of the cares of this life so I can pursue knowing God?
– Do I praise and thank God and take time to honor Him?
– Do I cry out to God to see Him to know Him?
– Do I value knowing God more than having anything or being with anyone else in this life?
– Do I radiate to others the light and joy of being with God?
What about you?

Looking for God in All the Right Places

In my quest to worship and praise God, I came across some scriptures that revealed another way we can praise Him. This involves remembering and proclaiming the deeds of God.The scriptures below reveal the connection between praising God and remembering and proclaiming His great deeds:

  • Ps. 145:10-12 – “All of your works will thank you, Lord,and your faithful followers will praise you. They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power. They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.” (NLT)
  • Ps. 9:11 – “Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; declare among the peoples His deeds.”
  • Ps. 105:1 – “Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.”

As a result of these and other passages, I began looking for God’s deeds in the Bible and in my life so that I could praise Him.

Recall God’s Deeds of Old
Many of the mighty deeds of God have been recorded and preserved in the word of God, the Bible. When we take time to recall the many great acts of God, we begin to know Him more and to trust Him more deeply. When I meditate on God’s great deeds, I cannot help but marvel and praise Him.

Some of my favorite deeds of God to recall are how:
– God created all things with his powerful word – Genesis 1
– God opened a path in the Red Sea for Israel to walk through on dry ground – Exodus 14:22
– God shut the mouths of lions and delivering Daniel – Dan. 6:22
– Jesus walked on water – Mt. 14:22-33
– Jesus fed 5,000 from 5 loaves and 2 fishes – Mt.14:13-21
– Jesus healed a servant from a distance – Mt. 8:5-13
– Jesus resurrected from the dead seated at the right hand of God – Phil 2:5-11.

As I meditate on these mighty deeds of God, I try to picture them in my mind. I see God is magnified before me. I am immediately struck with awe for God, for His power and His love to work on behalf of man. Reflecting on these acts causes me to praise God, and encourages me to trust in Him because the God who has done these mighty deeds is the same God with whom I have a relationship.

Recalling God’s Deeds in My Life
As a result of this, I became vigilant, looking for God’s working in my life, both past and present. As I reviewed my life I saw God’s mighty deeds in my life. Some of these deeds were obvious displays of God’s working, while others involved an unfolding of His working in my life and character over time. Some of the mighty deeds of God in my life have to do with God restoring my husband, Dan, to health.

A little after our first year of marriage, my husband, Dan, age 28, was having a hard time breathing. Dan went to a doctor, had the usual examination, x-rays and so on and was diagnosed with asthma. Despite treatments, the condition persisted and worsened. We prayed for God to help us and lead us to a doctor who could help.

We looked up asthma specialists in the phone book! We selected one, went to him and received the diagnosis of a malignant tumor inside the trachea. The cancer was a lymphoma which had also affected other areas of Dan’s body.

 Use God’s Mighty Deeds to Build Faith
God was there to help immediately.  As we received the dark news, my mind almost instantly was lead to the story of King Hezekiah. In 2 Kings 20, Hezekiah was given a terminal diagnosis from the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah cried out to God for a longer life. God had compassion and added 15 years to his life. That flash of remembering of this compassionate and powerful deed of God towards Hezekiah became the fuel for the faith we would need on this journey.

At the time of the diagnosis the tumor was growing at such a rapid rate that in two weeks it would have closed off his ability to breathe altogether. Here we see the hand of God in His timing.

The tumor was inside the trachea which at that time was a very difficult procedure and required significant expertise. We were told there were 5 doctors in the nation who could perform that specific procedure. The doctor, who diagnosed Dan, knew one of those skilled surgeons who happened to be located 50 miles away from where we lived.

The surgery happened within two days of the diagnosis. The doctors warned of a 50-50 chance of surviving the surgery, and a 50% chance of surviving a year afterwards. Tumors were found in three other places along the spine. During recovery from surgery many new dilemmas presented such as the lung collapsing three times, and an emergency tracheotomy, but God brought appropriate personnel and procedures in place at the right time to help with these difficulties.

After seven months of intense chemotherapy, my husband was declared to be in remission. Dan had to re-learn how to swallow and was fed through a tube in his stomach for a year and a half. Immediately after surgery, he was unable to speak and swallow, but over the years his ability to speak was restored, even though his voice remains somewhat quiet and raspy.

God worked mighty things behind the scenes using doctors, treatments and time to give Dan life and to restore him to full function.

“Remember” onto Faith and Praise
When I am feeling forgotten by God, or frustrated about waiting on Him to work in my life, when my faith is hitting on empty, I recall not only the mighty deeds God has done of old, but also the great deeds God has done in my life, from restoring life and health to my husband to helping me change things I thought would never change in my character.

This “remembrance of God’s mighty deeds” grows my faith and my awe for God. When I share the ways God is working in my life, or when I remind others of God’s mighty deeds, I am praising God.

I never read the Bible as a child but I do remember paging through a big family Bible that sat on a coffee table. Perhaps it was the pictures of God’s mighty deeds that I saw in that Bible that captured my heart for God.

I encourage you to page through a Bible and find more mighty deeds of God. Let these truths lead you to faith and to praise God.