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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

yearn.

yearn

by shane barnard


holy design
this place in time
that i might seek and find my God
my God

Lord i want to yearn for You
i want to burn with passion
over You and only You
Lord i want to yearn

Your joy is mine
yet why am i fine
with all my singing and bringing grain
in light of Him

oh You give life and breath
through Him You give all things
in Him we live and move
that's why i sing

acts 17:25-28, hebrews 12:28-29




As this song lingers in my mind, I can't help but desire this. As I read these scriptures, I can't help but desire Him, seek Him, yearn for Him and find joy in Him. These are such powerful and compelling scriptures.
"...God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, 
though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being..."
Acts 17:27-28

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
for our "God is a consuming fire."
Hebrew 12:28-29

What does it mean to yearn? By definition it means: to have an earnest or strong desire; long; to feel tenderness; be moved. After reading this definition and then reading this scripture, I can't help but wish I constantly lived my life yearning for Christ. He desires us to yearn for Him. He desires for us to desire Him. He moves mountains and He transforms our hearts. Countless times in scripture, God reaches out to His followers. He is a constant. He is the steady rock. He is our joy. He is our passion. Will you choose to let Him be these things for you? 

Why do we let a day pass and forget this? Why is it that we find more value and pride in our jobs, our things and our appearance rather than our salvation and relationship with the Lord? When we yearn for him, living water will flow from within us. I pray I would learn to live radically. I pray that we as a nation would learn what it means to take our faith seriously. More importantly that scripture and our God seriously. The gospel requires a response. As christians, we are not called to simply read scripture and pick and choose what we want to hear from God. He requires all of us when we make the choice to be His disciple, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. 

"Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple
must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
Luke 9:23

Is He worth it to you? May this be your prayer...

"My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God."
Psalm 84:2

Song of The Day: Yearn by Shane and Shane