Lately, I've been going thru some icky interpersonal stuff. Something I was totally blindsided by, that is causing me to seek the heart of God. Praying that He will show me if I did something not right....or that He would open their eyes to see things clearly, if that's the case. That's all I'll go into right now.
I just received an email from a dear friend of mine (who is clueless about what is going on with me in this struggle) that brought tears to my eyes. Why? Because what she had to say just resonated in my heart and helped me see I am not alone in my struggles. Other people, even if the situations aren't the same, DO have similar situations and feelings and hurts and longings. I am not alone. It all is wrapped up in this skin called humanity. We are not all as different as we imagine.
Okay, I know you are wanting to read what was said, so I"ll give you a glimpse...
It is okay to desire. Our desires are related not only to our fallen-ness but more profoundly our human-ness. When we look carefully at what we deeply desire we come to realize that what we want is simply not available this side of eternity. The more aware we become of our most passionate longings, the more lonely and sad we feel. Both errors in responding to our longings-which I see as hiding them in a flurry of Christian activities as well as focusing on them to find satisfaction-deny the simple truth that we legitimately want what we cannot have in this world. Remember, Kristi, we were designed to live in a perfect world uncorrupted by the weeds of disharmony and distance. Until we take up residence in that world, however, we will hurt. It is therefore okay...not only okay to desire but it is also okay to hurt.
John 7:37 "If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink."
After "...if anyone is thirsty..." what did Jesus say next?
Notice he didn't say, "Good. I'm glad you admit it. Now stop being selfish, repent of your thirst and engulf yourself under renewed commitment and staying productively busy."
Nor did he say, "Now that you are in touch with your thirst, I want you to explore it deeply, study with folks at church what can be done to feel better."
Nope. What he did say was, "Come!" Neither deny your thirst or focus on it. Jesus's invitation to come to Him on the basis of perceived thirst grants the legitimacy to the longings of our soul. It's okay to thirst. Nothing less than perfect relationships in a perfect world among perfect people will make pain free happiness a reality. Not like you need to be reminded, but the fact is we will long for what we cannot have until God arranges things to His standards. A certain core of sadness or grief that will not go away is evidence not of spiritual immaturity but of honest living in a sad world.
Desires will always remain. And that is good. We can't deny our inside desires without loosing a very real part of our existence.
Yes. God's hand reaches far into things much more often than we notice.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead...
Thoughts by Kristi on 11/11/2004
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 whatevers:
I totally know the answer to that question: *Sorry, I didn't see that you IM'd me again...*
The correct answer is: The first line of Switchfoot's "This Is Your Life."
Do I get a cookie???
ok, i'm commenting on everything now b/c i'm at work, its 4:50am and i have absolutely nothing to do...soooooooo here i am! =) anyway, feel free to respond or not, but i pose this:
Jesus says, "if you are thirsty, come to me and drink" right? if we are thirsty and longing, maybe we're longing to drink something specific...He says come to me and drink, but He may have something different for us to drink than what we expect. our thirst will be quenched. He talked with the woman at the well and she expected the same old water she'd always gotten, the water she'd seen everyone else getting. but Jesus wanted to give her LIVING water.
Post a Comment