Longing For Something More

"For You have rescued me from death; You have kept my feet from slipping.  So now I can walk in Your presence, O God, in Your life-giving-light." 

That last phrase caught my eye, "life-giving-light", maybe its just because I live in a place where the sun is treated almost as a delicacy or luxury; we will take every opportunity we get to be outside when the sun comes out, even if its cold and sunny out, we will just bundle up more!  Either way, I decided to look up that verse in a couple other translations. One said, "light of the living" and another was, "light of life".  

After thinking about these different phrases, I thought maybe why we, those of us who live in the almost year round gray, rainy weather, love and long for the sun so much is because of the lack of God's presence.  Not only is it rather dreary in weather, but spiritually its also a rather oppressive and seemingly deprived of God's presence.   Perhaps its not necessarily the sun we are longing for but God's life-giving-light, His presence; if we have such a lack of God's life giving light, wouldn't we start looking and seeking any kind of light, even artificial life giving light?  

Through out life there are so many ways where we long for the real deal so badly that we end up settling for and being deceived into the counterfeit of that thing.  Just think of how many times and ways the enemy has taken promises of God, attributes of God and even just the written word of God and twisted it, made a counterfeit of it, and humankind have fallen for it.  Now I'm not saying the sun is bad or soaking up the sun is bad, but I'm simply wondering if maybe the over obsession for tanning, whether tanning beds or laying out in the sun, is from the under laying need for life giving light.  And that longing will never be satisfied and no matter what amount of sun or light we get will be enough. It is only through being in God's presence will we find true satisfaction and true life.  And maybe that explains the desperate want to be tan, to have that "glow", its a longing to be in God's presence, like Moses had from being in the presence of God.  Only we often go about getting it in all the wrong places and ways.  Yet its just another counterfeit to cheat us out of the real deal, the only thing that is going to satisfy that need, want, longing in our innermost being.  

With the lie, we will always need more and never have enough, and we will just end up wearing  ourselves into a tizzy, only wanting more and yet never being fulfilled.  Its only in God's presence will that longing and need be fulfilled, we have eternal souls longing for an eternal home, bound in temporal body's, nothing in this life will ever satisfy these eternal souls.   So now let us walk in His presence, in His life-giving-light!          

It Is Good

" I will thank You forever, because You have done it.  I will wait for Your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly" 

You know those times when you're reading a passage of scripture and something about it just stands out to you; nothing in particular, but intrigues you to look it up? Well, this was one of those times.  As I was unpacking this passage and looking up the root meaning of each word, I realized the first mention of each of these words or phrases were in Genesis, specifically  creation. 

The first phrase that stuck out to me was, "because You have done it".  What has He done?  What is "it"?  In translating the meaning of these words, it is broken up to just the phrase "because You have done" the list goes on and on of its definition but its first mention is Genesis 1:7

"And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament  from the waters which  [were] above the firmament and it was so."  

The word here for "made" is of the same word that means "to be made done or have done". s
So what has He "done"?  He has "made".  

And than the small but very significant word, "it".  Again, first mention of the word is in Genesis 1:4 

"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

  And  He saw that "it" was good, the very first time God calls something "good".  

The next phrase breakup is, "and I will wait", which means, look for, hope, expect, but the second meaning is, to collect or bind together.  And the first mention of this is in Genesis 1:9

"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so."

And just as the phrase in the beginning, "You have done 'it'" this phrase "for it is good" is from the same passage in Genesis 1:4

Now to put all that together!  "Have done it", whatever "it" is in your life. God sees it and it is good!  Not just that, He planned it before the foundation of time, earth and light.  "I will wait for Your name..." while we are waiting for: the story of our life to unfold, the next step to be revealed, finish this chapter of our life or what have you; remember, just as He brought the whole world together He is bringing your life together.  As He made heaven and then dry land emerge from the waters and it was so, just as He spoke it, He is bringing our life together; from the highs of blessings and gifts from heaven to the waters that seem to cover our whole life, He makes dry land appear.  

When we wait for Him, and His timing, He makes it to be so and it is good.  Just as the sky above us, the heavens, He made and it its still so, still standing, stars still shining even though many have and do fall He makes sure our sky is full of those wonders that shine hope.  And just as the waves and tide rolls in and out everyday, when He said, 'This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!' [Job 38:11] it was and is so.  The same is true in our lives, He has set up boundaries and the waves of life may only come to those boundaries and no further.  

And just as sure as the sun will rise when we awake and light streams in threw our window, He will shine His light in our lives, awaken our souls and not let the darkness overtake our light.  He has made that person for you, He has made this exact job for you, He has made that college, He has made your future, He has made your life and most importantly, He. Has. Made. You.  Just as in creation, He has brought all these aspects of you and brought it all together, all that concerns you He planed before the foundation of time!  He has done IT and it was so and it is good!       

City on a Hill

"Did you hear of the city on the hill?

Said one old man to other

It once shined bright and it would be shinning still

But they all started turning on each other

You see, the poets thought the dancer were shallow

And the soldiers thought the poets were weak

And the elders saw the young ones as foolish

And the rich man never heard the poor man speak 

And one by one, they ran away

With their made up minds, to leave it all behind

And the light began to fade, in the city on the hill 

Each one thought that they knew better

That they were different by design

Instead of standing strong together

They let their differences divide

 It was the rhythm of the dancers, that gave the poets life

It was the spirit of the poets, that gave the soldiers strength to fight

It was the fire of the young ones, it was the wisdom of the old

It was the story of the poor man that needed to be told

 And one by one, we'll be running away

With our made up minds, to leave it all behind

As the light begins to fade, in the city on the hill  

Come home and the Father's calling still

Come home to the city on the hill come home"

(by: Casting Crowns, City on a Hill)

What will become of us if we are divided against ourselves?  "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." - (Mark 3:24-25) Will we fade away to a vapor of mystery, a tall-tale told to the passerby, foreigner and the children who wonder where the light has gone.  A story told as a wish and dream rather than a continued memory or reality.  A city, strong and mighty, it was a fortress no enemy could break down or tear apart, but it was destroyed by its own, by its countrymen.  Don't bother to look for its remains or rubble, for as each left they each took his own work he did, each stone laid and every brick stacked.  The only thing that remains of this city is this tale that we tell of the city that stood on a hill.

"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many are one body, so also is Christ...and if they were all one member, ehre would the body be?  but now indeed there are many members, yet one body.  And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you.' ; nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" 1Corinthians 12:12,19-21