Recently I have started walking again. I am walking for heart health and because it is so good for the pesky restless leg syndrome that keeps me awake at night. Each morning I walk one mile, just one. No biggie. Except, I am out of shape, I am forty, and it is about a bazillion degrees here in the Midwest.
One morning last week my son was leaving for work as I was walking in the door. He said, "Wow. Why do you look like you just ran ten miles?" Uh. Excuse me? Ran? Nope, I walked. Ten miles? Nope, just one. I was drenched in sweat, panting far too heavy for one mile, and dying for some water.
What if we desperately longed for God the way I long for water after a walk? The way a deer pants for the cool streams?
We count down the minutes until the new episode of our favorite show. Our mouth waters for the warm, fresh out of the oven brownies. We cannot function when we leave our phone at home by accident. We yearn for the waves of the ocean. But we don't long for God.
When we miss church, no biggie. When we skip our quiet time, no problem. When we see the lost, our heart doesn't ache. When we forget to pay our tithe, we feel no guilt. Why do we long for everything but God?
I think it all goes back to commandment number one: have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3). When we place God as number one in our life, when He is above all, we will long for Him. We will desperately seek Him.
Let's be women who place God as number one in our lives and hearts and let's truly long for more of Him.
It's time for Share A Link Wednesday! Each Wednesday we invite you to leave a link to your latest blog post in the comments. We still desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories.
May we faithfully come to the only One who can meet every longing! And hooray for you in making the effort to walk the mile!
ReplyDeleteMy post today: http://www.joanneviola.com/2020/07/he-still-does-great-wonders/
Hmmm...definitely food for thought. As the deer pants for water, so I long for you Lord. Is it possible not to long for God because he's first place in our life and we're in constant contact with him? Would you long for water in the way that you did and be so out of breath if walking were a regular part of your life? When God is a regular part of our life, when God is our life, I think our panting looks and feels different.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the walking! I've been riding an exercise bike inside, but I'm told I need weight-bearing exercise for bone health. We've so filled our lives with so many other things, we don't recognize our need for Him sometimes. May we always long for more of Him and more time with Him.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about how we don't need something big or official to minister to others: https://barbaraleeharper.com/2020/07/27/finding-ways-to-minister/.
Our blog post next Tuesday is right along these same lines! :)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.instaencouragements.com/blog/she-loves-truth-week-nine-proverbs-25-27
Your post has hit a nerve! I allow so much else, so many "other" thoughts to crowd out my panting for the Living Water. I desire and need that Water, yet manage to skip it far more than I care to admit! Thank you, thank you.
ReplyDelete@ Being Woven - https://beingwoven.org/2020/07/29/words-words-words/
~ linda
I also have started walking again. I love the time in the morning to just listen to praise music and reflect on God's beautiful creation. I notice that the more I am in God's presence the more I do yearn for Him. It is when I skip out on quiet time or prayer that I start to lose my desire. This week i wrote about celebrating our 20th anniversary and the things God has taught us, http://keepingthetiethatbinds.com/2020/07/23/celebrating-20-years/
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