Do you know what “longing” is? According to the Cambridge English dictionary, it is “a feeling of wanting someone or something very much.” The Webster-Merriam dictionary adds that it is a deep desire for “something unattainable or distant.” I like the Cambridge definition better because it fits my Scripture for the day.

For what is your soul longing? Is it longing to be healed or to feel complete peace? Is it longing for this suffering in this world to be over so that you can join Jesus in Heaven? We need to consider carefully for that which we long since God’s Word promises to satisfy us. But, at the same time, the Word does not say that God satisfies that longing with the object of our longing, only that we are satisfied. We need to practice being content and long for the things that are in the will of God. In the same verse, God’s Word says that He fills the hungry soul with goodness. Are you hungry for God? For His Word? For His Spirit and His peace? That is how you get filled with His goodness, by being hungry for the things of God that will fill you to overflowing with His love.

There is no doubt that this world is a mess! But God can fill us with His goodness so that we can see life and the world through the loving eyes of the Father of Creation. When I am crying out for all of this madness to end, God gently reminds me that those who are lost in darkness have not yet found the light and that He wants to continue to use His people to shed that light so that as many as possible might be brought into the knowledge of His saving power and grace. My longing is to do the Father’s will, and unlike the Merriam-Webster definition, I think that is attainable if I just stay focused. What is your greatest desire, your longing? Is your soul hungry? Be filled today with His Spirit and know that He is satisfying your longing and your hunger! Blessings, my friends.