Devotion: Appreciating the Desire for God

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Writer's note: You are going to follow my train of thought here. 

Stick with me as you will see how God revealed to me His truths of truly desiring Him. 

It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and we were driving the 2-hour trip home from my in-laws' house. My "Mom Brain" cranked back up as I began assessing what needed to be done in the next few hours to get my family ready for a regular week back at school and work. My kids had been out of school for 5 days, and I knew that Monday morning could be rough if I didn't prepare them. I then started thinking of the past 5 days and how I had blessedly slept to almost 8 am each morning. I groaned as I thought about my 530 am wake up call Monday morning. Another 4 more weeks of getting up before the rest of the house...and the sun...until I can sleep late again. ::SIGH::

But then I started thinking about sleeping in. I remember when I was working I promised myself that if I ever had the opportunity to stay at home, I would sleep in until 7 am every morning. Now that I have been blessed to stay at home, sleeping until 7 has rarely happened, even on the weekends. Even in the summertime, when I don't have to prepare my kids for school, I still got up at 630 each morning.What struck me, though, was how much I truly appreciated sleeping in when I had the opportunity. I realized that if I got to sleep in every morning, I would never really appreciate the joy of it. I wouldn't have a desire, a craving, for those few extra moments of blissful sleep.

So this all lead me to thinking about my desire for God, and how similar and different this is compared to my desire for things I rarely get to enjoy.

How are they similar?
That desire. When I really want something, I truly desire it. I can't wait until the moment I get to enjoy that peaceful moment, that piece of chocolate, the crisp air, the warm sun...and the presence of God. A few weeks ago, I described what it felt like to Feel God's Joy. It's not every day I get to literally feel the presence of God, to know that I am surrounded by Him. And I yearn for that. I look for God in the little things {a sunrise, my children's hugs, scripture, a good toe-stomping from my preachers}. When I am studying His word, I search the scriptures, I pour over commentaries, and I write out my  prayers. I have a TRUE DESIRE to be with God. 

How are they different? 
Time. I knew that if I got to sleep in until 7 or 8 am each morning, I would never really truly appreciate it. So I needed to just keep to my regular schedule in order for me to be delighted by those few chances I get to enjoy an extra hour of blissful dreams. BUT, I would never desire that for my relationship with my Lord. In this case, absence does not make the heart grow fonder. 1 John 2: 24-25 says, "Be sure you continue to follow the teaching you heard from the beginning. If you continue to follow what you heard from the beginning, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. And this is what the Son promised to use - life forever." We are encouraged and instructed to continue with our relationship with God. We need to constantly be in God's Word, through personal devotions, consistent attendance and fellowship with other believers, and deep studying of His scriptures. I have found some incredible Bible studies through Good Morning Girls, its sister site Women Living Well, A Virtuous Woman, and its sister site The Vintage Homemaker....Staying in constant contact with The Creator, with The Savior, only creates more desire. There is no momentary, fleeting pleasure like the kind you get from tasting a good, dark chocolate, or those few moments you get to see an incredible array of colors through a sunrise. When you stay with the Lord, your desire for Him increases to where you are constantly thirsting for Him.

Recognizing those similarities and differences can help put into perspective the type of appreciation I should have for the Desire I have for God. Take a moment today to reflect on the blessings God has given you {a warm home, children, food on your table, a car to get you to work, having a job, a strong cup of coffee, a cold glass of sweet tea...}. See how God has His Hand in so many aspects of your life. Look back at how you have grown {as a woman or man, as a teacher, as a mother or father, as a daughter or son, as a wife or husband....}. See how God has His Hand in molding you. See how He has intervened in your life {when you ended up being able to pay a bill you never thought would get paid, when you did NOT get a job you thought would be good and it turned out to be bad, when it rained on a day you wanted to go out, but ended up providing water to make your garden grow, when you were cured of a disease that tends to overtake so many in your family....}.

See God. Desire God. and Appreciate every aspect of Him and His involvement with you. You will experience such JOY.



If you also have a great Bible Study you follow or a website that is encouraging to you, please comment below with the link. I love nothing more than to discover other sites where the Truth of God is proclaimed and the study of His Word is encouraged.