Thursday, March 10, 2011

Devotion of Longing

Seeking You God through Worship, Praise, and adoration… through study and prayer, in silence and in laughter, in good times and bad, when the way is easy and when it is rough…  My heart longs for You Lord.

Psa 42:1(AMP)  As the hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God.

Mat 7:7-8  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Seek in the Greek: Thayer Definition:
1) to seek in order to find1a) to seek a thing 1b) to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into  1c) to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after
2) to seek, i.e. require, demand  2a) to crave, demand something from someone
Part of Speech: verb  ( a verb shows action so ACTION IS REQUIRED!!!)

Psa 34:1-3  A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Psa 34:4  I sought1875 (853) the LORD,3068 and he heard6030 me, and delivered5337 me from all4480, 3605 my fears.4035
Psa 34:5-9  They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
Psa 34:10  The young lions3715 do lack,7326 and suffer hunger:7456 but they that seek1875 the LORD3068 shall not3808 want2637 any3605 good2896 thing.
Hebrew1875  דּרשׁ  dârash  SOUGHT/SEEK
BDB Definition:
1)    to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require
I require You! Help me make You my necessity, for even so, surely You are! I desire You! I seek You Lord.  I only have You. Though my friends and family love me, I can not resort to them and find what is only found in You!
1a) (Qal) 1a1) to resort to, frequent (a place), (tread a place) 
What is this place I frequent? This place I tread?  It is the place of prayer, it is the place of His Presence, His Fellowship, it is seeking the intimacy of the Godhead, My Abba Father-loving Daddy, All wise God. My  Saviour and Glorious Bridegroom and the Lover of my soul –Jesus. My patient teacher, counselor, helper, defender- the Precious Holy Spirit. The all encompassing Trinity, who is all and knows all and in WHOM I find resonance in living, being and moving through my life here.

Like David, I say: “My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad.” Psa 34:2  (AMP) 

When I read “tread” I “saw” what a friend calls  “Tweedle toes”… a kitten treading its mother with its paws to stir the milk to flow…or just out of sheer pleasure of being close!  I am seeking El Shaddai the one who gives me nourishment and causes me to grow…  In Him I live and move and have my being.  In treading Him, I am seeking the very LIFE that Jesus came to give to me, Zoe Life. I am seeking HIM, in all His beauty, splendor and glory. I am seeking to KNOW HIM. I am seeking His Ways, His Wisdom, His Being to flood my own with Himself.  I want the pleasure of being close!

I cry Abba! I cry Jesus! I cry Holy Spirit! Come!  Come and fill me up! I am so empty! I am so hungry! I am so needy of more of YOU!  Even as I say this the tears come, the longing to be so entangled and wrapped up and hidden away in You Lord.  There is an ache inside… that when I come into your Presence I like the Bride in Song of Solomon want to say;

 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest thy flock, Where thou makest it to rest at noon: For why should I be as one that is veiled Beside the flocks of thy companions?”   Song 1: 7(ASV) 

I do not want to be veiled with You Lord to remain hidden, as though ashamed or hiding… I want to be full exposed and transparent with You my Love!  You who know me better than I know myself and yet You love me! 


In the Jewish Bible Ps. 34: 4 says:  
“I SEEK the Lord (present tense ongoing) and He answers me…” (Again a continuing relationship- not a one time occurrence!)  If I know He is answering that means I am HEARING…
    
Even when I am going through those rocky places and the way is not smooth, may I go with Him and stay by His side, My Shepherd Guide... Oh! May I hear Him say to me:

Son 2:14 (AMP)  [So I went with him, and when we were climbing the rocky steps up the hillside, my beloved shepherd said to me] O my dove, [while you are here] in the seclusion of the clefts in the solid rock, in the sheltered and secret place of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

And I answer and say, “Yes I will LET You! Oh let me love You more!  Let me please You Lord!  May my heart ever stop to adore, my voice to cry out more, for you hear me and You answer me for You desire me. Therefore, I desire You; to Know You, to Love You, to become LOST in You!”

“Draw me and WE will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments.”  Song 1:3 Douay Rheims (WE-meaning all of me- spirit, heart and soul, and body)

And what is the outcome of this?  The king hath brought me into his chambers!!! To spend one night with the King... but I shall have a thousand years of Eternity to spend with My King!

So I chose to begin now My Lord, in the finite that we call time. I seek You with my whole heart.  And You promise to be found of me. (Jer. 29: 14)  A love affair that will span all of eternity, You and I!  Selah.

                                     ~ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥~

Journal your own “love affair with the Lord.  What causes you to hold back?  He knows  your fears!  Give Him yourself and do not think that it will not be enough.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is very, very beautiful. Almost too intimate to be shared online as you wrote of your own heart with Him...Very beautiful...

Karen said...

My heart leapt as I read this. Yes, yes. I love the tweedle part. We tread towards the Lord in love and ease, yet passion. Some people ‘tread’ like on a treadmill in works, and even prayer and prayers lists non-stop and then get exhausted because of their own ways to trying to ‘reach’ God. I thank God the ease of relationship that the Blood of Jesus has made it to be. Praise God! Karen

JB said...

THANKS SO MUCH NANCY FOR THIS INTIMACY WITH OUR LOVER, MARRIED TO HIM, OUR HUSBAND. Love, JB

LearningbyReading said...

Worship, praise and adoration is the only path that works cross culturally. thank for illuminating post!

Anonymous said...

Lovely, Nancy.

Love and blessings, Carole