Recently I read Psalm 119. It left an impression on me. I remember closing my Bible and saying to myself, “That is what it means to be a man after God’s own heart”. The author’s desire to be close to God drips from every verse.
Here are some examples:
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments! Verse 10
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways. Verse 15
My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules[d] at all times. Verse 20
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end. Verse112
I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commandments. Verse 131
Do you hear the writer’s longing? His yearning? You can almost see him with his arms stretched out to God, trying to grasp Him, and pull Him close, just like a young child reaches for their parent. Listen to his voice, “Daddy, my whole heart seeks you. I am consumed with longing for You. I want to do all that you say. Please help me to do so as I incline myself towards You. I pant for You.”
I think this is what Jesus meant when He referenced loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind. The author of Psalm 119 not only wants to be close to God, but he wants to follow closely after Him. He wants to please his Abba Father. He knows that true intimacy with God comes as we walk in his ways.
To what can we compare such yearning? Throughout life we encounter people with great passions: for women or men, cars, houses, education, fame, sex, and money to name a few. They will sometimes give their very lives for them. Is this similar? Perhaps in some ways, but when a heart is truly given over to God and His ways, it is infinitely better than throwing one’s passions into treasures that rust and fade, and moth destroys.
How much more valuable is it when we yearn for God above all else? Well, the truth is that since He is supremely valuable, our hearts will never be more satisfied than when we are praising and pursuing Him, and living in obedience to His will.
This week I want to encourage you to look at the verses above, and in particular, the words which I put in italics. Ask yourself, “Is this my heart for God? If the answer is no, ask yourself why not. If you decide that you want more of God, ask Him. He delights in such requests.
1”This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14