“…so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being.” – Acts 17:27-28a
Yearn is a word that has too long been neglected. Owned by sonnet-writers and dreamers, this could well-describe God-worshippers. Last night, I rediscovered it during a lazy evening with friends. One is a Chinese student ravenous to master English vocabulary. We were looking in one of my textbooks and a list of feelings/emotions caught her attention. Many of the words were familiar to her from conversations with American friends, but one stood out unknown and, for us native English speakers, hard to describe: yearning.
As we were trying to describe it, her nearest friend in our group pulled up a song on Youtube. It is “Yearn” by Shane & Shane.
Verse 1 – Holy design; This place in time
That I might seek and find my God, my God
Chorus – Lord, I want to yearn for You; I want to burn with passion over You And only You
Lord, I want to yearn for You; I want to burn with passion over You; And only You Lord, I want to yearn
Verse 2 – Your joy is mine, yet why am I fine
With all my singing and bringing grain in light of Him
Bridge – Oh, You give life and breath; in You we live and move. That’s why I sing
Copyright © 2004 River Oaks Music Company/True Bliss Music/Waiting Room Music/BMI (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing)
When you go to bed at night, do you ever struggle to get your mind quiet enough to sleep? Do your longings push through such that until you pray them out you can’t sleep? That’s how last night was for me. I long to know God’s purpose for these days in my life…I long to be closer to my children…I long for some of my friends and family to know Jesus…I long for….so many things. And sleep finally comes.
This morning the ache of some of those same longings woke with me. Then in the quiet, with my coffee and the Word, a yearning for God Himself settled those other longings in their proper place.
“Father, I cry out to You. Let me rest in Your arms, that the world might not press in so, disturbing the peace. You only are the One who completely satisfies – otherwise we lean toward wanting more and more of something less. God, bring me to a place where obeying and following You is all I want. My soul gets tormented by things that are undone or not yet – relationships that aren’t where I’d like them to be; responsibilities that seem beyond my abilities; God, draw me to Yourself. Help me to be where You want me to be, and then everything else will be, at least, ordered rightly. Father, I lay down these longings – these relationships; these responsibilities – and lift my face toward Yours, yearning only for You right now. I love You, Lord. Teach me to love You more. In Jesus. Amen.”
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. – Deuteronomy 4:29