Tag Archives: longing

Intimacy with God, Reflections on Life

Exposed

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The young man across the table from me was dead serious. “Tell me about your prayer life”, he asked me. “I want to know how you pray”.

Sam was a pastor’s son from a part of Africa that had seen much turmoil and suffering. He had come to Canada seeking opportunity. He was a young man with an excellent spirit – committed to excellence on the job and in his relationship with the Lord.

I had met Sam at church, and had discovered that we worked in the same building. I offered to have coffee with him thinking that I might be able to encourage him spiritually. I soon realized that although I had years of experience and had learned some valuable lessons, none of this made up for my young friend’s zeal and passion for a consistent, fruitful walk with God. He wanted to learn from a faithful model. He thought I was that model.

As I listened to my own response to Sam, it began to dawn on me that my prayer life at this point in time was in some respects not the best model to emulate. Oh, I still prayed. In fact, I prayed much of the time. I was in almost constant dialogue with God. This part, of course, was good. I also read the Bible several times each week. But I no longer followed a structured, consistent approach to Bible reading or prayer, and my prayer life was often lacking in depth, passion and focus as a result. My malaise went deeper than this, though. I didn’t have what Mike Bickle describes as a “bright spirit”, at least not consistently. I thought I loved God, but looking back, I see now that I needed to rediscover what loving God really meant.

As I described my spiritual condition to Sam, I offered a half-hearted explanation about having moved from legalism to freedom. It sounded lame even to me, and I hope he saw through it. Sam’s question had exposed my heart, and I didn’t really like what I saw.

Anyone who has been happily married for twenty years or more will tell you that a good marriage takes effort. If you really want to have a relationship of true intimacy (tenderness, faithfulness, trust), you won’t just fall into it. Yes, you can “fall in love” with the man or woman of your dreams, but that’s mostly about attraction and desire. The attractional aspect of love is not a bad thing, in fact it’s a gift of God and an important part of any marriage, but it can be quite self-focussed, and it won’t carry you through the days when you feel miserable and everything is difficult. To truly love that man or woman will require a lifetime of costly choices. It’s no different in our relationship with God. If anything, the stakes are even higher, the choices more costly. You can get into Jesus’ Kingdom for free, but if you want to be great in his Kingdom, it will cost you your life.

To be brutally honest, the Christianity that is common in our culture sets the bar very low when it comes to the effort required to cultivate a fruitful relationship with God. When you live in an environment that is mostly cold, dark and hard, your perception gets dulled until you think that this is normal. So, maybe I do have a more vital prayer life than many people around me. I don’t know, I can’t measure that. What I do know is that compared to Jesus, my prayer life has a long way to go. But the last couple of months, Marion and I have been sensing a call from God to go deeper with him, and having reapplied myself to a more diligent pursuit of God, I am already discovering the rewards. The Word of God is more alive to me, I can hear His voice in my spirit more easily, my heart is becoming softer, I am more thankful, more peaceful and more content – and I want more.

One of the ways I have been responding to this call is by following a Mike Bickle teaching series on the Sermon on the Mount. When you are being taught on prayer by someone who has been spending hours a day in prayer and the Word for over thirty years, you get challenged to go deeper. Mike’s teaching is not complicated. In fact, it’s remarkably simple, straightforward and uncluttered. It is also very honest and comes from a place of deep humility. That’s why I find it hard to argue with. Mike has not been talking down to me. He has been appealing to my heart, and my desire for God has been stirred up.

Jesus said that the first priority of our lives is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He also said that if our eyes are clearly in focus, our whole body will be full of light. I want my life to be bright with the light of God. When I stand before God on that Day, I want to give an account of wholeheartedness, not halfheartedness; single-mindedness, not double-mindedness. The One who gave his life for me is worthy of nothing less.

The world will soon be treated to the spectacle of the Olympics. World-class athletes have given years to the pursuit of an extremely high level of fitness and athletic skill. It’s a notable pursuit, one we can’t help but admire. Physical fitness does have some value, which is why I ride my bike several times a week. But that’s not the goal of my life. I have devoted my life to running a different race, one whose outcome has eternal value. I want to pursue the prize of knowing the Maker of the Universe. It is amazing to me that the One who hung the stars in place would be interested in having a relationship with someone as small as me. But since he says he loves me, and has invited me to be his friend through Jesus Christ, the only thing I can say is “Yes” – with my whole life – again, and again, and yet again.

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Basic Principles, Eschatology, Faith and Finances, Intimacy with God, Reflections on Life

Why we wait

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Many of you know that my last IT consulting contract ended almost three months ago. Since then, Marion, Bethany and I have been living on reserves, and I have been waiting on the Lord for new work.

There have been several “near misses” in this process. There were a couple of contracts that I could have had, but turned down. Others, however, seemed attractive to me. I was confident that I could have done the work, and I wanted to win the bid, but it went to someone else. Since no circumstance in my life is outside of God’s control, and I have been actively and intentionally submitting this whole process to Him, I can only assume that the delay is part of God’s provision.

Let me be clear. My family and I have been in no real financial distress during this time. The wrestle for me has not been about managing finances, but about trusting God’s promises and fully co-operating with His purposes. A little over a year ago I received a major prophetic word while visiting International House of Prayer. Part of the word was that I would be like Joseph, a financial storehouse for others. So, my rational mind tells me that it is not helping me achieve this goal to see my reserves get eaten away by a three-month hiatus in work.  But sometimes God allows us to go through a season where our circumstances seem to contradict the word we have been given. This is not a bad thing. In fact, waiting for God’s promise is a necessary process. It’s part of how God builds faith. He is the one who will fulfil the word, and He will do it in His way. My part is to be a man of faith, to act on the word I have been given.

There are preachers and teachers who would like you to believe that faith means expecting all your hopes to be fulfilled in this life, in this age, without any delay. That may be what our human nature would like to believe, and it may be how Hollywood celebrities like to live their lives, but it’s not what the Bible teaches and it’s not true to the experience of God’s people, past or present.

Yes, it is true that when Jesus healed people, he didn’t make them wait. He healed them on the spot, no delay. But it’s also true that Jesus himself had to wait for his most important desires to be fulfilled (see Luke 12:49 for one example of this).  He knows what it is like to long for something that is coming, but is not here yet. Jesus longs for his wedding day – the great day when he returns to claim the earth as His own, wed his Bride, banish evil and establish his throne openly. But he is waiting for the Day appointed by his Father (Matthew 24:36).

The other day I saw a video clip produced by Voice of the Martyrs in Nigeria. That beautiful, fertile, potentially prosperous yet troubled land is increasingly being plagued by the scourge of militant Islam. Boko Haram, a jihadist group that has already killed hundreds of Christians in the northern part of Nigeria, is now threatening to start attacking the mostly-Christian south as well, using methods such as food poisoning. Their declared goal is to turn Nigeria into an Islamist state by killing all the Christians in Nigeria who refuse to convert to Islam (there are over 80 million Christians in Nigeria, about half the population of the country).

The video clip showed numerous heart-wrenching examples of the suffering of Christians in the areas where Boko Haram’s campaign of terror has already been unleashed. But it also showed signs of hope. VOM has been standing with the church in Nigeria, providing help to displaced persons and the families of martyrs so that they can rebuild their lives. I was struck by the determination of Christian leaders in Nigeria not to give in to intimidation. One of the leaders interviewed on the video clip declared that the reason for the campaign of terror is that Christianity has been growing through evangelism in the mostly-Muslim north, and Muslim leaders are afraid of losing control, so they resort to fear tactics.

Why does God allow such things? Because the Day of the Lord is not yet here. In the meantime, we have an opportunity to testify to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and invite people to put their hope in Him. For those with eyes to see, there are signs of the Kingdom everywhere – but there is also great suffering in many places. This is nothing new or strange; in fact Jesus predicted it. The battle between darkness and light will not be resolved until Jesus returns.

In the meantime, in both easy and difficult times, we live in hope. God is calling us to be a pure bride, free of mixed motives, with our eyes fixed on our bridegroom who is surely coming. If we are in a season of peace and prosperity, we thank God for it, and seek to use it for His glory (a real challenge in a culture that constantly tempts us with immediate self-gratification in myriad guises). If we are in a season of adversity, we place our hope in Him and seek the grace to remain faithful. David advises us not to fret in such times, for “better is the little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked” (Psalm 37:16). Even in adversity, like Elijah with the ravens, God’s people can expect provision as they exercise intentional faith. At all times, we place our hope in the One who is coming to make all things new.

Would I prefer to prosper while I wait? Of course – who wouldn’t? But there are seasons of plenty and seasons of adversity, and in both, God is faithful. I believe that God will bring to fruition the word I was given about being a storehouse. I want that with all my heart, because I believe it’s part of God’s destiny and purpose for me. But I also realize that the waiting is part of God’s preparation. He wants my hope, my security and my desires to be fixed on Him, not on specific outcomes that I (fool that I am) imagine I can control.

Why do we wait? Because we serve a God of hope – a God of resurrection – a God who is bigger than we are, and who will fulfil His promises in His way and in His time. We serve a God who is faithful when we have plenty, who is faithful when we suffer loss, who is faithful even when His people are being murdered for their faith. At all times He is good.

I’m glad I’m not in control.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

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Intimacy with God, Prophetic Ministry

Is God real?

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Is God real?

I mean, is there actually a living, loving, personal and powerful God who really cares about you – a God that you can connect with, a God that makes a tangible difference in your life?  Is there a God that you can trust to direct your steps and see you through?

Biblical faith is all about relationship.   It’s not an abstract, theoretical faith.  I am grateful for apologists who present a reasoned case for Christianity, but even intellectuals need more than logical arguments to sustain their faith.  God has not designed us to be able to survive on an abstract faith that is never experienced.  Our hearts are not meant to be able to operate that way.  Only a God who makes a tangible difference in our lives will hold most people’s attention for long.  The God of the Bible is a relational God – a God who speaks to people, who interacts with them.  Our hearts long for His touch.  As the Psalmist wrote, my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

I was raised in an atmosphere of skepticism about prayer, spiritual experiences and miracles.  As a young man, although intellectual wrestling was an important part of my journey from unbelief to faith, rational arguments alone weren’t enough to bring me out of the pit of turmoil to the solid ground of confident assurance.  It took a series of encounters with God’s supernatural power to get past my defences and convince me that the God of the Bible was real and alive.  Probably the most pivotal single occurrence was a dream I had twenty-seven years ago that I have never forgotten.  When I went to bed I was not yet convinced that God spoke through dreams, visions and prophecies.  When I awoke, I knew that He had gotten my attention in a simple and unforgettable way about a major life decision.  That dream changed the whole direction of my life, starting a chain of events that led to my salvation.  Since then, there have been several key turning points in my life at which God has broken into my life with a fresh word, bringing hope, encouragement and new perspective.  I am more grateful than words can say for such divine encounters.

The most recent of these encounters came during a recent two-week road trip with my bride in celebration of our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.  I love road trips, and I had been looking forward to this one for a long time.  After visiting with Simeon, Heather and Sophie (see Life Lessons from Sophie), we went on to spend a weekend at International House of Prayer in Kansas City.  We had brought our daughter Bethany with us (she was a great travelling partner), and all three of us had the opportunity to receive personal prophetic ministry while we were there.

I know that God can speak to me without any human intermediary, and frequently does.  I read my Bible regularly, and His written word provides a solid foundation for my life, and a lens through which I evaluate the many and varied other ways in which He speaks to me.  Still, I count it a great privilege whenever praying, believing people set time aside to hear from God for my life and tell me what He has shown them.  Although I’m no stranger to personal prophetic ministry, I had been looking forward greatly to this aspect of our visit to IHOP, and I was not disappointed.  I found the prophetic ministry wonderfully refreshing, encouraging and confirming.  It was also very simple, calm, and totally free of hype.  Marion, Bethany and I sat down in three chairs, and the two women who were to minister to us sat down facing us.  They prayed briefly and then, in a quiet but confident manner, they began sharing what they sensed the Holy Spirit showing them for each of us.

I won’t give details of what was spoken over my life, because I am still processing it, but let me simply say that it got my attention.  There was nothing spectacular about it – no fireworks, no earthquakes – and yet I knew God was speaking to me powerfully through these two very gentle, unassuming servants.  Marion and Bethany likewise found that the prophetic messages they received were very pertinent to their lives.  Keep in mind that none of us had ever met these two women, and we had given them no information about ourselves, yet they accurately identified several key issues in each of our lives, and spoke truth into situations that they had no way of knowing anything about except through the Holy Spirit.  As for me, they brought Biblically-grounded insight, encouragement, confirmation and clarity to four major areas – my work, my finances, my sense of identity, my relationship with my children.  As I result, I have a fresh awareness of the goodness of God.  I felt as though He were saying to me, “I see your ways – I have my eyes on you, and I have a purpose for every area of your life”.  Of course as a believer in Jesus I already knew this was true, but I now know it in a different way – not only by conviction, but also by personal and recent experience.  God has filled my cup with encouragement and fresh faith, and I am profoundly grateful.

In his instruction to the Corinthian church about the operation of spiritual gifts during their meetings, Paul says that visitors who come into a gathering where the people of God are prophesying will find the secrets of their hearts laid bare, and they will fall down in worship, declaring “God is really among you”.   I didn’t literally fall down in worship, but I did give thanks to God for exposing areas of my heart that needed to be exposed, and speaking life-giving wisdom and truth into my life through loving, trustworthy, faithful servants.  As a result I can say with fresh confidence that God is real and alive, and both speaks and acts on behalf of those who seek Him and trust Him.  As the Psalmist wrote, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a  light to my path.  If you have been wondering whether God sees your pathway, and whether He cares enough to direct your steps, the answer is a resounding Yes.  Yes, He does.  Turn to Him and ask Him to speak to you,  and – one way or another – He will.

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Reflections on Life

Can’t get no satisfaction?

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I recently had a tour of Paris Hilton’s mansion – not in person, I hasten to add, but in a hilarious YouTube video with Ellen Degeneres.

Who is Paris Hilton, you ask?  Good question.  She is the great-granddaughter of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton.  She is also very, very wealthy.

Let me say straight up that I have nothing against wealthy people in general, or Paris Hilton in particular.  In fact, when I saw her home — featuring large, immaculate parlours in which she by her own confession had never sat, a beautifully-appointed kitchen that is almost never used, a walk-in closet the size of a small bedroom full of clothes, and dozens upon dozens of portraits of Paris Hilton — I felt sorry for her.

It’s easy to point fingers, but that’s not what this post is about.  It’s about our hunger for fulfillment, where this hunger comes from, how it drives us, and how it can ultimately be satisfied.  Paris Hilton, it seems to me, is not happy – not truly satisfied.  The same could probably be said of many celebrities.  There is something that drives them to always seek some new thrill, some new experience, some new acquisition.

Yesterday was Friday, everyone’s favourite day of the working week at my office.  On Fridays a near-holiday atmosphere prevails.  I have a group of friends who went to the pub yesterday at lunch time, as they do every Friday, to drink beer and play cards.  They go because they want to enjoy life.  They are looking for satisfaction.

As for me, I went to the park to walk, listen to music and talk with God.  At first glance this might seem like a very different choice than the ones my friends were making in going to the pub, but in at least one sense our choices were very similar.  I went to the park for the very same reason that my friends went to the pub: because I was looking for satisfaction.

On the way to the park I passed the Gatineau Mosque.  I was struck by the number of men who were gathering to pray, as Muslim men do on Fridays.  I prayed for them, and almost immediately the Holy Spirit pointed out to me that whatever I think of the Islamic faith, most of these men have a sincere desire for God.  They are seeking satisfaction.

When I ride my bike home from work, I am not just trying to get exercise or save money.  There is something in me that drives me to push my body, and the views of the river and the city along the bike path feed my spirit in a way that I cannot fully explain.  I am seeking satisfaction.

My son Joe is enjoying his new church family.  He loves the relationships and the family atmosphere of this new church, he senses God at work in some exciting ways, and he is thoroughly enjoying being part of a worship team again.  He is seeking satisfaction.

My daughter Bethany has just finished her grade 12 exams. As I write this, she is sitting in our living room looking at her year book with her Mom.  To celebrate the end of high school she went camping with some of her school friends yesterday and today.  They were seeking satisfaction.

My friend and colleague Stéphane volunteers at a feeding program at a homeless shelter close to the office where we work.  He also volunteers as a Big Brother.  Why does he do this?  To help others – yes – but he is driven by a desire for meaning and purpose in his life.  He is seeking satisfaction.

My brother-in-law Jamie competes in several triathlons each year.  My friends Dan and Lydia were among many who ran 10km in Ottawa’s recent race weekend.  My nephew James cycles 80-90 km on weekends on a regular basis.  I am impressed with their dedication to fitness, but I believe they do this for more than fitness alone.  They do it to satisfy some inner drive.  Like everyone else on the planet, they are seeking satisfaction.

What’s my point?  As I wrote last summer on the topic of The Importance of Desire, citing Mike Bickle’s insightful book The Seven Longings of the Human Heart, all of us are driven by deep longings that are built into us by our creator God.  Because of the way we are designed by God, we do many things in a quest for satisfaction.  Tragically, many people spend most of their life’s energy in this quest and yet never find what they are seeking except in fleeting glimpses, on rare occasions.

In the words of a classic song from the sixties – one of the Rolling Stones’ first big hits

I can’t get no satisfaction
And I try, and I try, and I try, and I try

For many people, sadly, these words are only too true.  This is where drug addiction, family violence, prostitution, and all manner of social evils originate : from wounded, deceived hearts seeking satisfaction in destructive ways.  Many are seeking to fulfill desires that were placed in their hearts by the One who made them, but they never find the peace they seek, because they don’t realize that only in surrender of our lives to Him can these desires be fulfilled.  As C. S. Lewis wrote,

we are like ignorant children who want to continue making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the sea.

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of the activities that I described above.  Yes, it is possible for wounded, damaged, deceived hearts to seek satisfaction in ways that are destructive and wicked, but most of the things people do for satisfaction are not wrong in themselves.  There is nothing wrong with going to the pub, playing cards and drinking a glass of  beer with your colleagues, riding your bicycle along the river, praying, camping, enjoying music and hanging out with friends.  All of these are forms of blessing from the hand of a good God.   Yet my heart is sad for many of the people around me because I see that they are chasing satisfaction in things God has provided, not realizing that He himself is the true provision, and that in Christ alone can their hearts find rest, peace, wholeness, ideals worth living for, and satisfaction that truly endures.  Years ago I was saddened when my friends M. and S., who were very involved in the peace movement and in many other social justice causes, were unable to find peace in their own marriage, and went their separate ways.  This is a common story. They were trying to solve the problems around them but they had not dealt with the turmoil within them.  It was scenarios like these that led me to surrender my life to Christ, as I discovered to my everlasting delight that here was One who understood the desires of my heart, could bring order, peace and joy to my life, and give me purposes worth living for.

If this post describes your life – if you’ve been seeking satisfaction and not knowing where to find it – there are people who can help you.  Get in touch with me and it will be my delight to introduce you to Jesus, my best friend and the One who has brought peace to my life.  He knows your heart and He is the source of satisfaction you have been seeking.

If you already know where life can be found – pray for your friends and those around you.  Ask the Lord to help you see your friends and work colleagues with new eyes – with His eyes.  Ask Him to give you His heart for everyone in your life who is seeking satisfaction outside of the One in whom lasting joy can be found.  Then reach out with His heart as he opens doors – without judgment, but with genuine compassion.

Wherever you are at in your quest for satisfaction, may you allow Jesus, who alone is good and trustworthy, to guide you home.  No matter who you are, no matter where you’ve been – He is your peace.

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Reflections on Life

A longing fulfilled

Yesterday I went for a bicycle ride along the Rideau River.

Riding a bicycle is a very ordinary, everyday activity for many people, but for me, yesterday’s ride was cause for great rejoicing.   You see, eight weeks ago today I dislocated my shoulder in a cycling accident, and until the last couple of days I have been unable to ride my bike.

Although I only adopted cycling as a regular routine a little over a year ago after a hiatus of many years, I have come to love it as an activity that benefits me in three dimensions.  Not only is the physical activity good for my body, but cycling also clears my mind, brings joy to my heart and provides a context in which I can hear the voice of God.  So for me, yesterday’s ride through the parkland along the Rideau River was a blessed experience, bringing refreshment to body, soul and spirit.

Yesterday I also played my guitar and got through two songs.  This is something else I have been unable to do since my accident, because my shoulder injury led to reduced strength in my hand and wrist.   My grip is still not as strong as before the accident, but it’s at a point where I can start playing again for a few minutes at a time.  My fingers hurt when I play, and there are still some chords I can’t make, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel.  This again is very significant to me.

No-one enjoys experiences of loss, however small they may seem to others.  When I could no longer ride my bike or play my guitar, even though I knew the loss was temporary, there was a significant hole in my life.  For me, these two activities represent ways in which I experience the goodness and living presence of God.   When I was unable to cycle or play guitar, although God was still present and I had much to be thankful for, two of the ways in which I had been accustomed to connecting with Him were unavailable to me, and at times I felt the loss deeply.  And when the hoped-for recovery seemed far off and the process was slower than I wanted it to be, I began to experience the truth of the first part of the words of Solomon in Proverbs 13:12 :

Hope deferred makes the heart sick

But now that I am beginning to be able to resume these activities that I have come to love, I can say an enthusiastic YES to the second part of this proverb :

But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Why does all this matter?  Wouldn’t a true Christian just ignore his feelings, soldier on and keep trusting God regardless of circumstances?  Well, yes and no.   A true follower of Christ will continue to soldier on, yes, but not always without a struggle.  All of us – even “greats” like Jesus and the Apostle Paul – are affected by the blows we take in life.   Pretending that such blows leave us untouched is simply dishonest, but letting them steal our victory is a serious mistake.  The Apostle Paul, whose trials were surely far greater than mine, put it this way :

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.

Last night my wife and daughter and I watched the film Shadowlands, a dramatization of the love relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham.  It is a touching story of love, loss and longing.  Lewis’ own experience of loss shed fresh light on the truth of his assertion that pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.   All forms of pain and loss are reflections of the fact that we live in a fallen world.  The Enemy of our souls attempts to bring us down through suffering, but God has a different agenda.  Although He loves us and does not derive pleasure from watching us suffer, He uses experiences of pain and loss to remind us of our need for Him – if we will listen.  And since we are inclined to take His goodness for granted, temporary deprivation can actually be good for us because it causes us to long for His deliverance.

As my son Simeon reminded me recently, in the Biblical view of life death is not natural.  We were made to long for eternity, and our longings will only ultimately be fulfilled in the New Jerusalem.  Every other desire and longing fades in the light of the one desire that we were made for and that alone will satisfy our  souls – the desire to see God face to face, to dwell in His presence forever, with His name on our foreheads (Revelation 22:1-5).  Come, Lord Jesus!

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Basic Principles, Intimacy with God, Reflections on Life

The importance of desire

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Buddhists believe that passions and desires lead only to trouble, and the way to peace is to attain a state in which we no longer have such longings.  Some Christians likewise seem to think that our desires and passions are inherently evil and should always be denied.  But that is not the picture we get from the Bible.  True, the Biblical writers do warn us that some passions are destructive and will lead us into sin if indulged, but they also speak of desire or longing in a positive sense.   The characters who populate the pages of Scripture are not weak, insipid, colourless, passionless wimps – they are people with strong emotions, who do not hesitate to express those emotions and desires.

Take Bartimaeus, for example.  He was a blind man who lived in the city of Jericho during Jesus’ lifetime, surviving by begging from passersby.  When  he heard that Jesus was on the road and heading his way, Bartimaeus cried out at the top of his lungs “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   The people around him tried to get him to be quiet, but Jesus approached him and asked him what he wanted.   He then told Bartimaeus that his passionate shouting was an expression of faith, and rewarded that faith by healing him.

Jesus’ response to Bartimaeus is evidence that our problem is not desire, but wrongly directed desire.  God is not offended by the fact that we have passions or longings.  In fact, he created those desires and longings, and without them we cannot live.   Even the desires that get us into trouble are perversions of desires that were originally built into us by God.  The Devil is not creative enough to come up with anything truly new – he can only twist the desires that God originally placed in us into perverted forms, or tempt us to fulfil legimate desires in illegitimate ways.

As someone who ministers emotional healing to others, and as a passionate person with strong desires of my own, I have struggled to rightly understand this aspect of human nature, and have found little positive Christian teaching on the subject.  For centuries, in a well-intended desire to combat sin, much Christian teaching has implied that desires in themselves are evil and should be suppressed, but I have always known intuitively that this could not be the whole picture.  Recently I was delighted to find many helpful insights, and much encouragement, in a wonderful little book by Mike Bickle on the subject of desire.  It is titled The Seven Longings of the Human Heart and is available as a free download from International House of Prayer.

Bickle writes,

When we wake up in the morning, whether we realize it or not, we are being driven by innate desires that demand answers and refuse delay. These longings are inherent to us as human beings. We have longings, yearnings, placed deep within us by God, for the purpose of wooing us into His grace and presence. As we understand their origin in God, we begin to cooperate with these longings in accordance with His will. We find the answer to our longings in the One who put them in us.  (Mike Bickle, Seven Longings of the Human Heart, © 2006 Forerunner Books, p. 5)

Bickle then goes on to identify seven longings which, rightly understood and channeled, can propel us forward in a wholehearted pursuit of the God who made us :

  • the longing for the assurance that we are enjoyed by God
  • the longing to be fascinated
  • the longing to be beautiful
  • the longing to be great
  • the longing for intimacy without shame
  • the longing to be wholehearted and passionate
  • the longing to make a deep and lasting impact

My heart has been stirred and my understanding has been strengthened by reading this book.   I have been given fresh motivation to pursue God with my whole heart, and renewed confidence that this is what I was made for.  I would highly recommend it for any Christian believer but especially those who are intercessors, pastors or small group leaders.  Thank you, Mike Bickle.

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