I have been a people person my entire life. I’d have to ask my mom to be certain, but I probably made my first friend in the hospital nursery. Because of our recent move, I meet new people almost daily. I really enjoy meeting new people and making new friends. I also enjoy hiding from my kids and eating chocolate. That last part doesn’t really have anything to do with this, but they say confession is good for the soul so there’s that.
But lately loneliness has been creeping in. Mostly late at night when the house is quiet. I long for the familiar faces around town, my regular pew in church that sits five rows back in the middle section, my favorite restaurants, my parents, my friends, my people. I discovered something that I never expected, I miss being known.
I wonder if God feels this way about me. I’ve got my favorite verses and my Sundays reserved in a new pew, I’ve got the Christian doctrine down and can tell you about nearly every Sunday school story. While these things are important, when disconnected from a desire to know more of God it just becomes useless knowledge. It’s just a star on my attendance record or a check on my daily reading plan.
To know God is to walk daily in relationship with Him. Yielding to His will and leaning not on our own understanding. It’s an open line of communication all day long praising Him, seeking Him and presenting our needs to Him. It’s a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit who lives within us so that we can sense His leading. It’s a daily choosing to serve the God of heaven and not the longings of this flesh.
I thank God for the loneliness because it draws me closer to Him. I pray that this world would never be enough.
What’s going on in your life? What are you facing? God wants you to know Him, not just know about Him.
As always, if you need prayer send me a message. I consider it a great honor to pray for my friends.
