My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God. (Ps 84:3)
There is a lot of “yearning and pining” that we do in our lives. Much of it can be witnessed by others.
We have seen how children yearn and pine for the coming of Christmas. Each time they pass a Christmas tree, their eyes light up. Each time they see the tree in their home, they look to see if there are presents underneath. When the presents arrive, they examine them, without opening, and you can feel the excitement in the air as they wait for the day that they can open their gifts.
We watch young people go through their first loves. When they see the object of their affection, they faces change, their eyes become more alive, and they become as clumsy and mushy as can be. They become like fish out of water.
We see yearning and pining in all sorts of areas of life: a first job, a new job, marriage, children, anniversaries, retirements. People plan long and hard for so many of those events.
Souls do the same.
They yearn and pine for God.
Our natural inclination is to long for God.
That is the soul’s first and strongest desire. It is what keeps us going.
That is why, when we sin, we feel so bad, because we know that we have hurt Him for whom we long.
As we yearn and pine for the Lord, let us make sure that we live as worthy, faith-filled servants this day.
FAITH ACTION: Spend some time in prayer today letting the Lord know how much you desire to be with Him.