Longing for God

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by: Timothy Vazquez

01/07/2021

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Psalm 84:1-2 (NLT) How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing  to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.

King David loved God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. That was so obvious not only from His writings but also from the way that he lived his life. Even though he made some major mistakes leading to gross sins, he fully repented and received God's forgiveness. The one thing that stands out most about King David is not his many accomplishments or even his incredible successes in battle, but his longing to be in the presence of God. Back in his day, the presence of God was literally and physically at the Tabernacle (the Temple had not been built yet) that he had set up when he brought the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The Ark of the Covenant was where the very presence of God dwelled. His shekinah glory filled the room where the Ark was and no one except the High Priest could go in there to offer sacrifices for the sin of the people, and that just once a year. But just knowing that God's presence was there made David's heart long to be there with Him.

I many times have wondered how my heart compares to David's heart when it comes to loving the Lord and desiring to be with Him in His presence. Does my heart faint with longing to be where the Lord is? Do I worship the Lord with my whole being? These are important questions because to truly know God is to love Him. The more that you get to know Him, the more your love for Him grows. If you feel no love or enthusiasm for God, then something is wrong with your faith. We who live is the era of grace that Jesus came to usher in have a few legs up on David who didn't have the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him (the Holy Spirit came upon him many times but didn't dwell in Him because sin had not been atoned for yet). If David could get so moved in his being by the thought of being in God's presence, what should we who have Christ Jesus actually living in us experience? We should be bursting at the seams with joy, gratitude and love for our Lord and Savior...unless of course He doesn't live in our hearts. Like I stated before, to know God at a heart level is to love Him. The reason for that is because God is love (1 John 4:8). He is not love like you or I think about love, but He is love in its purest and highest form possible. He is the very essence of love and that kind of love that is received in the heart must elicit a response. That kind of love received cannot go unanswered. You cannot receive the love of God through Christ Jesus and be stoical about it. Our response to our God should surpass that of David's response. How can we, in the face of the extreme and powerful love of God have no desire to be with Him, unless it is that we do not really know Him?

If you don't feel about God the way that David did, then search your heart and go deeper. You are missing out. It was David who said that God's love is better than life itself (Psalm 63:3) and that love is for you to experience on a daily basis. Don't settle for anything less. Seek the Lord with all of your heart and you will find Him and in finding Him, you will long for Him and will experience the amazing beauty and majesty of His love!

Pastor Joey Vazquez

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Psalm 84:1-2 (NLT) How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing  to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.

King David loved God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. That was so obvious not only from His writings but also from the way that he lived his life. Even though he made some major mistakes leading to gross sins, he fully repented and received God's forgiveness. The one thing that stands out most about King David is not his many accomplishments or even his incredible successes in battle, but his longing to be in the presence of God. Back in his day, the presence of God was literally and physically at the Tabernacle (the Temple had not been built yet) that he had set up when he brought the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The Ark of the Covenant was where the very presence of God dwelled. His shekinah glory filled the room where the Ark was and no one except the High Priest could go in there to offer sacrifices for the sin of the people, and that just once a year. But just knowing that God's presence was there made David's heart long to be there with Him.

I many times have wondered how my heart compares to David's heart when it comes to loving the Lord and desiring to be with Him in His presence. Does my heart faint with longing to be where the Lord is? Do I worship the Lord with my whole being? These are important questions because to truly know God is to love Him. The more that you get to know Him, the more your love for Him grows. If you feel no love or enthusiasm for God, then something is wrong with your faith. We who live is the era of grace that Jesus came to usher in have a few legs up on David who didn't have the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him (the Holy Spirit came upon him many times but didn't dwell in Him because sin had not been atoned for yet). If David could get so moved in his being by the thought of being in God's presence, what should we who have Christ Jesus actually living in us experience? We should be bursting at the seams with joy, gratitude and love for our Lord and Savior...unless of course He doesn't live in our hearts. Like I stated before, to know God at a heart level is to love Him. The reason for that is because God is love (1 John 4:8). He is not love like you or I think about love, but He is love in its purest and highest form possible. He is the very essence of love and that kind of love that is received in the heart must elicit a response. That kind of love received cannot go unanswered. You cannot receive the love of God through Christ Jesus and be stoical about it. Our response to our God should surpass that of David's response. How can we, in the face of the extreme and powerful love of God have no desire to be with Him, unless it is that we do not really know Him?

If you don't feel about God the way that David did, then search your heart and go deeper. You are missing out. It was David who said that God's love is better than life itself (Psalm 63:3) and that love is for you to experience on a daily basis. Don't settle for anything less. Seek the Lord with all of your heart and you will find Him and in finding Him, you will long for Him and will experience the amazing beauty and majesty of His love!

Pastor Joey Vazquez

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