{"id":5055,"date":"2013-12-10T08:22:57","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T13:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=5055"},"modified":"2014-07-21T10:05:59","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T14:05:59","slug":"joy-of-every-longing-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/joy-of-every-longing-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Joy of Every Longing Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJoy of every longing heart\u2026you find us where we are\u2026waiting for you.\u00a0 Love to make the broken whole\u2026you rescue every soul waiting for you.\u201d\u00a0 Those are phrases from Faith\u2019s 2013 Christmas musical. The celebratory title song is found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Christmas message of joy and love in Christ is only intensely experienced as such by those who recognize that they are in a joyless, loveless condition\u2014those \u201cwaiting\u201d and \u201clonging.\u201d<\/p>\n

The good news of Jesus\u2019 birth in Luke\u2019s account went first to the shepherds (Luke 2:8ff).\u00a0 Why did the message go first to the shepherds and not the movers and shakers of Israel\u2019s elite ruling class? A clear answer comes when we gain an accurate view of the shepherds. Often we have a highly romanticized perspective of shepherds because of our industrialized culture.\u00a0 We think of shepherds as nice, gentle old men with long snow-white beards, holding cute little baby lambs in their hands.\u00a0 The reality is that the good tidings of great joy came first to the dishonest, unclean outcasts with grungy beards\u2014those needing the message most\u00a0(Stein, Luke New American Commentary<\/em>, 108).<\/p>\n

In Luke 2:25, the great exuberance of Simeon came as he saw Jesus because he was looking for the consolation of Israel.\u00a0 He had been in mourning\u2014looking for comfort\u2014and then Simeon found Him. The exalted thanksgiving of Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:38) came upon beholding Jesus after she had been waiting for redemption, serving night and day with fasting and prayers.<\/p>\n

The shepherds were satisfied.\u00a0 Simeon was satisfied. Anna was satisfied. Joy to every longing heart.\u00a0 What are you longing for?\u00a0 What are you desiring?\u00a0 What do you believe would make you happy?<\/p>\n

Friends?\u00a0 Companionship?\u00a0 A Spouse?\u00a0 A Spouse Who Loves Me?<\/h2>\n

\u201cIf I just had a companion then I would be happy!\u201d\u00a0 Pressing a little deeper beyond the surface of these desires reveals a greater longing\u2014the desire to belong or the desire for intimacy in a world of alienation.\u00a0 Deep intimacy and belonging originally were present with God in the Garden of Eden but now seem to escape us.<\/p>\n

More!\u00a0 More Pleasure?\u00a0 More Sex?\u00a0 More Thrills? More Food?\u00a0 More Entertainment?<\/h2>\n

\u201cIf I just had more, then I would be happy!\u201d We are forever lusting after the next thrill in using others or things to please ourselves.\u00a0 From insatiable and escalating sexual thrills to extreme and dangerous sports, we must experience everything.\u00a0 Is this longing speaking to a deeper sense of incompleteness that we innately feel?\u00a0 \u201cShalom\u201d is the Hebrew word that captures the wholeness that God desires for all of us and was present in the beginning but now seems to elude us.<\/p>\n

Peace? Calmness?<\/h2>\n

\u201cI just want a little peace. That would make me happy.\u201d\u00a0 Everything seems to be spinning out of control\u2014out of control kids, out of control marriage, out of control finances, out of control government.\u00a0 The longing for peace and stability reflects our innate understanding that this world is broken, hurtful, out of control. We long for blessedness in relationships and in a world system that actually works for the edification of people based upon righteousness and justice.\u00a0 That blessedness did exist originally in the Garden of Eden in the presence of God, but now it also seems to be out of everybody\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n

Respect? Power to Influence?<\/h2>\n

\u201cIf more people just respected me, then I would be happy.\u00a0 That is why I climb the corporate ladder.\u00a0 That is why I accumulate possessions.\u00a0 That is why I exalt myself in front of all.\u201d\u00a0 At the core of this longing is a skewed identity of who we are.\u00a0 We are longing to be somebody in the eyes of all and that becomes our purpose in life.\u00a0 We deeply long for significant purpose.\u00a0 Again originally, God gave us a divine purpose that was satisfying and fulfilling in the Garden of Eden in His presence.<\/p>\n

Health?<\/h2>\n

\u201cIf I just had health.\u201d\u00a0 Every one of us is hurtling inescapably toward death.\u00a0 We sense this and our true desire is for abundant life.\u00a0 Abundant eternal life existed in the presence of God in the beginning. Now death reigns.<\/p>\n

Satisfying Our True Longings<\/h2>\n

Behind all the surface desires of humanity is a longing for intimacy with God and others, wholeness, blessedness, purpose, and abundant life. The fulfillment of these deep seated longings is only found in the presence of our Creator. But being in the presence of our Creator is impossible because of our sin that separates mankind from God. Thus we are forever destined to continue longing and masking our true longings by the temporal pleasures of the world (drugs, alcohol, sex, food, power, possessions, use of people for their praise of me).\u00a0 Do not let the desires for these temporal, earthly things mask the deeper realities.\u00a0 You need intimacy with God.\u00a0 You need wholeness. You need blessedness.\u00a0 You need purpose.\u00a0 You need abundant life.\u00a0\u00a0 When you realize that these are the greater yearnings of your heart, and when you see and accept Jesus as the way back to the presence of God there will be joy inexpressible to your longing heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cJoy of every longing heart\u2026you find us where we are\u2026waiting for you.\u00a0 Love to make the broken whole\u2026you rescue every soul waiting for you.\u201d\u00a0 Those are phrases from Faith\u2019s 2013 Christmas musical. The celebratory title song is found here. The Christmas message of joy and love in Christ is only intensely experienced as such by… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nJoy of Every Longing Heart - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/joy-of-every-longing-heart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joy of Every Longing Heart - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cJoy of every longing heart\u2026you find us where we are\u2026waiting for you.\u00a0 Love to make the broken whole\u2026you rescue every soul waiting for you.\u201d\u00a0 Those are phrases from Faith\u2019s 2013 Christmas musical. 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