Longing For God

Psalm 42:2

"As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God."

Growing up, I remember when Lent came around it meant I had to give up something to prove to God and Jesus, that I was a faithful follower. Whether it was giving up Pop Tarts or my favorite soda, I really wanted to please God. Then when I got into my teens, I wanted to give up something for Lent that would be difficult because I wanted to grow personally, wanted to feel more connected with the process of Lent. But over the past few years, something has really shifted me away from such selfish reasonings.

While on a plane back from Florida, I took out two books before take off, one happening to be written by Mother Theresa. The man sitting next to me asked very politely, “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you reading about Mother Theresa?” So I gave him my answer, and within minutes we were discussing religion. While we were discussing he said so many people think because of scientific advances a God couldn’t be real; not knowing that there have also been evidence proving there is a God. To which I responded, anymore, I feel I speak more to people about what little Faith they have in a higher power, then those I speak to that have complete Faith in a higher power. And he shook his head in agreement saying how sad it was. How Blessed we are (most of us) to live in a time when we don’t have to beg or worry about when our next meal will be. I think though as a culture, we suffer in so many other ways. Ash Wednesday, a day that marks the start of the Easter season, was shaken by the mass shooting at the Florida High School. The media is telling us “Prayers are not enough anymore. We must take action and do something”. And it seems every time something bad happens in our culture the question is why would God do this? If God was so great, then why aren’t all of these prayers being answered?

God is not our problem. Our reliance on self is the issue. We need more people longing for Jesus, longing for God. How many of us truly Long for him? How many of us go home to a family at night, sit at a dinner table, and just talk about our days? Talk about our Blessings? We have become a culture obsessed with our “busy lives” leaving no time to stop and talk with a neighbor, help someone in need, volunteer at a food pantry, or simply love one another. As Mother Teresa once stated, “Love to be real, must cost, it must hurt – it must empty us of self”.

This lent I think as a whole we must empty our selfish intentions and ideas of Lent, and go back to what this season is really about - repenting, praying, loving, and only looking to God to fill our minds, hearts, and souls. This Lent season, I challenge you to “give up” or “pick up” something that brings you closer to Jesus and closer to God. Jesus was tempted for Forty days while fasting in the wilderness, and not once did he lose his Faith in his Father, our God. What temptation is worth giving up in order to get closer to God? Is it really chocolate or bread? Or is it turning off the TV when eating dinner with our family? Or praying before bed instead of checking your cell phone? Our culture may have lost faith in God and say that prayer isn’t enough or that He doesn’t even exist. But as His followers we must prove to our Heavenly Father that he has not lost us and that we long for Him. We will still Pray. We will still listen and read Scripture. We will continue to help our communities. We will continue to love our neighbors. And we most certainly will not give up on his calling for us to rely only on Him.