We wait. We yearn. We long.
Sometimes we pine for the familiar of days gone by. Other times we thirst for the novelty of desires not yet fulfilled.
Our longings are usually that restless space in time where emptiness and expectancy oddly co-exist. Where patience is tested and perseverance is summoned. Where the futility of waiting always seems to emerge as fortifying grace. And where the something that we ache for feels unattainable, but our fire to realize it is far from extinguished.
Our longings are often deeply rooted. Depending on how we harness them, they either hearten us toward hope or direct us to despair. And since the beginning of time until now, mankind has longed for something or someone.
It was the longing for wisdom that caused Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden, resulting in mankind’s alienation from God.
It was the longing for deliverance from Babylonian captors that made God’s people desperately yearn for the restoration of Israel.
It was the longing for Bathsheba that drove David to devise a sinister plan for Uriah to be positioned on the front lines of battle so that he would ultimately be killed.
It was the longing for healing that compelled the woman with the issue of blood to activate her faith and defy the crowds just so she could touch the hem of Jesus’ garment.
It was the longing for greatness that motivated Simon the sorcerer to offer money to the apostles in exchange for the authority to bestow the Holy Spirit on all those he would lay hands on.
It was the longing to know Jesus and the power of his resurrection that encouraged Paul to share in the sufferings of Christ.
And just like those whose stories we’ve recalled from the Bible, the intensity of our longings directs our actions and leads to major shifts in our own lives.
But can I just remind you of a longing so intense that it didn’t just change the trajectory of one life? Indeed, the fulfillment of it made a way for the redemption of all mankind. You see, it was the longing for our reconciliation back to him that willed God to leave the splendor of Heaven, to put on flesh in the form of a babe, to walk among us here on earth, to suffer and die on the cross of Calvary, and to be resurrected on the third day.
My friends, even God longs. Not for wisdom or healing or greatness or any worldly gain. God lacks nothing. What he longs for he doesn’t need—he wants. And he still wants it today.
That is, he longs for us—for you and me and for this whole wide world he so loved.
And while most of our longings are directed inward, his longing is directed outward toward humanity. He longs to be gracious to those who wait on him (Isaiah 30:18). He longs to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). He longs to give us an undivided heart (Ezekial 11:19) and for us to know the hope to which he has called us (Ephesians 1:18). He longs for humanity to accept his gift of salvation given through the sacrifice of his only Son (John 3:16). He longs that we would love him with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind (Luke 10:27). He longs for us to encounter him in stillness (Psalm 46:10), to walk in the way of his truth (2 John 1:4), and to live with him for eternity (John 6:40).
I mean, WOW! The God of the universe longs. for. us.
Us, the broken, the bruised, and the battered ones.
Us, who are wretched and wandering and worn.
Us, the rebels, the ruthless, the reserved.
Us, who often stray and who inevitably sin.
Us. Immoral, impulsive, imperfect us.
Yes, this is what the Advent season should remind us of. That although we fall short of his glory, we are still wanted by him. That even,
“After two thousand years [ . . . ] His love still is longing, His love still is reaching [ . . . ] The Word of the Father became Mary’s little Son. And His love reached all the way to where I was.” —Gloria Gaither
Yes, his love is reaching all the way to where we are too, still bringing us tidings of comfort and joy. Comfort that promises always to be with us. Comfort that soothes the anxiety of our troubled souls. Comfort that prepares the way for joy.
So yeah, we wait. We yearn. We long. But, oh, we do not lose hope. For the one we seek in the waiting will renew our strength (Isaiah 40:31). The one who hears our yearnings bends down to listen (Psalm 116:1–2). The one in whom we delight will give us the longings of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). Yes, the Mighty Savior who is in our midst, God with us, will delight over us with shouts of joy (Zephaniah 3:17).
O, tidings of comfort and joy indeed.
As the end of another year is drawing near, do you still have unmet longings that seem far off? How does knowing that God longs for you help guide your longings as a new year dawns?
Stephanie, thank you for these beautiful words! Reading and confirming “how my longings direct my actions” or realizing that perhaps my longings are not strong enough to direct the actions that I would like to take are giving me food for thought in this new year. I loved reading all those verses how the Lord longs for us, desires those good things/time with us. I’m going to print it so I can read those verses in that “longing light” regularly. Thank you for blessing us with your inspired writing by the Holy Spirit.