My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. (NIV)

What are you longing for right now? Maybe it's a Taco Bell Crunchwrap. Maybe it's for a loved one to return home from a long trip. Maybe like me, it's both! Or something else on that wide, wide scale of human longing. Surely, we all know what it is to long for something in that deep ache-in-your-belly kind of way.

‍

And what's beautiful to me is that God knows this about us too. In fact, he put in us the capacity to long after what is good. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that he has "set eternity" in our hearts, which means God has put in us a longing for more, for what is good and perfect and lasting.

‍

Maybe this makes you want to shake your fist at God, because longings have gotten you in trouble before. Longing for too much Taco Bell, for example, can have a certain kind of effect! But, although Satan is out to twist every perfect gift God has given, longing is actually a part of our design that can, when governed by the Spirit of God in us (Rom. 8:6), lead to deeper intimacy with and dependence on the Lord.

‍

In today's passage, Isaiah 26:9, the psalmist describes a longing and yearning for God's righteousness. He calls for God to reveal what is good and right to the earth. And our longing can find us in this place too. When we look around us and see all that is not good, we long for what is.

The trouble comes when we mistakenly try to answer that longing with the counterfeit satisfactions of this world instead of God himself. We long to feel filled, but instead of asking for more of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), we settle for overeating. We long to be seen, but instead of investing in authentic community (Ps. 133:1), we settle for scrolling and posting. We long to be known and loved, but instead of pursuing deeper connection with God (Ps. 139:1-4), we settle for toxically codependent relationships, porn, or hook-up culture.

‍

Here's the distinction: longing to be seen, known, loved...those are good desires. The trouble is in what we answer those longings with. God alone has the capacity to fill these desires in the most authentic, true way.

‍

And yet, by his abundant grace, we can experience glimpses of the way God alone fills our heart's longing for intimacy, love, and connection through our relationships on this earth. In a healthy marriage relationship, in friendships, or in a thriving community, we can experience a reflection of the perfect spiritual intimacy we crave and get a taste of the way our Father God sees us entirely and yet loves us completely. What a gift! And yet, even those healthy expressions are but a taste of what our hearts truly long for - to connect deeply with our Creator.

‍

Psalm 42:1-2 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God?" Are you that desperate for God? The answer to our deepest longings is neither to villainize and stuff them, nor to act on every opportunity the world presents to settle for counterfeit satisfaction. As the psalmist teaches us, may our response to the longings of our heart today be this: Where can I go and meet with my God so that he can fill my heart with his perfect love, intimacy, and connection?

Father God, I bow before you now as the only One who can fulfill me. Thank you for putting in me a longing and desire for intimacy, connection, and relationship. God, strengthen me to resist the temptation to trade authentic closeness with YOU for the cheap counterfeits of this world that I think will satisfy. Teach me to desire you above all else; I know that you alone are what my heart longs for. In the name of Jesus, amen!