What is your deepest
desire? Have you ever thought that
question through? What is it that you
truly long for? What is your end goal? Have you dreamed of owning a car, a boat, a
home? Would you like to lose some
weight, strengthen your health, or build some muscle? These are all admirable goals but are they
your deepest desire?
There are many days
that I can say that my deepest desire is for Jesus, many. Yet I regret there are many where I put Him
aside and let other things take precedence.
Doctor’s appointments, visits from friends and family, and even
activities of daily living are things I put first before Him, and when I do I
regret it. Is He then like a big
powerful ogre ready to punish me when I set other things as more important than
Him? Definitely not! His Spirit calls and woos me back into
spending quality time with Him, reading His Word, talking things over with Him,
just being in the awareness of His Presence.
It is during these times with Him that I sense the growing desire to
know Him more.
“As the deer pants [longingly] for the water brooks, So my soul
pants [longingly] for You, O God.” –Psalm 42:1 AMP
“My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living
God. When will I come and see the face of God?” – Psalm 42:2 AMP
“Guide me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my
salvation; For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long.” – Psalm 25:5 AMP
This desire-this
longing calls me to draw even closer to Him; the closer I draw, the more I long
for Him. One would ever wonder if there is a
limit to this relationship. There is
none because our God is infinite. We can
draw closer and closer and there will always be a deeper place for the
relationship to grow for who can know everything there is to know about
God? Brothers and sisters in Christ, it
is time to get closer to God.
“Further up, further
in!” was the cry of the characters from the book, “The Last Battle” written by
C. S. Lewis. After a great final battle
between good and evil the characters who fought on the side of good came into a
beautiful land; one so much better, more colorful, and yet with the same
landmarks of their beloved Narnia. When
they realized that the Narnia they knew was lost in the battle and was no more
they entered through a doorway and found themselves in Narnia, but one that
would never end. "I have come home
at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been
looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we
loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree–hee–hee!
Come further up, come further in!"
This is what Puzzle the donkey said.
This is what the characters did, they went further up and further in. Coming to a great golden gate they opened it
and discovered an even bigger country, but again – it was Narnia: more colorful, more beautiful, and more
brilliant. Then came the resounding cry
again, “Further up, further in!”
Mr. Lewis had an
excellent grasp of what it was like in the Presence of God as he portrayed it in
this last book of The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegorical series of seven
books he wrote for children filled with talking animals and lessons on
obedience and the difference between good and evil. In God’s Presence the believer comes to
realize the deepness of God and the desire for more of that deepness. “Further up, further in!”
“God has looked down from heaven upon the children of men To see if
there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God [who requires Him, who
longs for Him as essential to life].” – Psalm 53:2 AMP
“O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You; My
soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.” – Psalm 63:1 AMP
“My soul (my life, my inner self) longs for and greatly desires the
courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” – Psalm 84:2 AMP
Every believer has
deep within a desire for more of God but it is not a one-way
street. Just as we desire more of God,
He desires more of us. He is just
waiting to have compassion and forgive us for the wrongs we do. He is ready to move on our behalf at any
moment.
“[God Is Gracious and Just] Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly]
and longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have
compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed (happy, fortunate)
are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].” – Isaiah 30:18 AMP
The only problem is
man is fickle. We are not able, in our
own strength or resolve, to stick with and respond to that call for getting
closer and deeper with God. As I
mentioned before, I (and most believers if they are honest with themselves) let
other things take precedence. I hear Him
calling me deep in my spirit yet I let my human obligations or desires come
first. How can I ever change?!
“For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at
work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and
creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His
good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:13
AMP
There is a Christian
song I remember from back in the 70’s that says it best:
I have worked, I have
struggled,
Trying to bring about a
change,
Just trying to rearrange,
My life to be like His.
I have said, “I’ll be holy,”
If I can change this part
of me,
But now I finally see,
That it’s not my work but
His.
Do I want to effect
real change in my life? All I have to do
is turn to Him and He will enable me to change, to grow closer and closer. Brothers and sisters in Christ, NOW is the
time to turn to Him. NOW is the time to
grow closer so He can enable you to grow even closer. Do you hear His call? “COME FURTHER UP, COME FURTHER IN!”
