Have you ever just felt like getting away from it all? Just walking out in the country on a lonely path leading who knows where? Or walking along a deserted lonely beach far off the beaten track? Or just exploring a town or city or village you’ve never been to before?
If you have, I don’t think you’re alone. Some people are practical, pragmatic and hard-headed; and others are dreamers and might have their head in the clouds! I suppose that’s me really.
So much of what we dream about, often doesn’t make it in reality; we do a ‘reality-check’ on so many things, and often they just don’t make the grade. We accept that there are some things we just can’t have or we just can’t do.
I will always be a dreamer first before anything else; I think God doesn’t mind to be honest; dreams make the world go round after all. He dreamed the world into existence, then it became reality.
Where can God be found? In quaint churches? Or huge cathedrals? When we pray privately in our bedrooms? God is everywhere, and nowhere it seems.
We yearn for so many things, and perhaps for so many different reasons. We yearn to find work, and struggle when we don’t; we yearn wistfully for a better life, and then we can’t find it; we yearn to make sense of it all, and find that we just can’t; we yearn to understand God, and are confused when we don’t; we yearn for things that can’t be put into words, unutterable yearnings that maybe only God can really answer.
We yearn, because we are human. I am a Christian, and I struggle with thoughts and ideas about God; surely, as a Christian, I should have it all together, I should be sure in my beliefs and know everything there is to know about God and everything there is to know about the Bible? I wish! If you’re struggling understanding God, you are not the only one!
We yearn to be better than everyone else, and we fail. Does God want us to continually strive to be better than everyone else, or does He want us to run our own race? We can’t be anyone else, and we shouldn’t compare ourselves with anyone else; we can only be ourselves. There is something precious about being you, and only you can be you, and there is something precious about being me, only I can be me! We are unique, and precious to God.
Thank you for this post, Tim. I think that most of us can relate to those thoughts and experiences and I feel that it is a special gift to be sincere enough to want to share them with others. May the love of Jesus continue to be always present in our thoughts, heart, words and actions.
ReplyDeleteI used to be bothered by my "limited" understanding of God. I felt like I was "failing" Him since I don't completely grasp all the things about Him & His Word. Until I've finally come to grip the reality that God is infinite & I am finite. I cannot & will never fully comprehend His greatness. I should not put Him in a box because He is so much greater. If I can explain who He is & everything about Him & His Word, I will be in big trouble for that means that my God is small. Praise the Lord that He isn't! He is way beyond & above what I can understand in a lifetime. He will show me great & mighty things in His own perfect time. Thanks for sharing your own thoughts & experiences on this, Tim. This was a blessing to me. God bless you in your walk with Him.
ReplyDeleteThankyou Joan; I really appreciate your thoughtful comment and am flattered! It's nice to know someone is reading my innermost thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHi Mara; your comment is a post in itself! As you say, He is infinite and we are indeed finite. It does mean that trying to fully understand Him is at this time quite impossible; but we know some of His nature at least; He is good, He is faithful, He is tender and He is certainly merciful; I can speak of this having experienced it in my own life. Both you and Joan have really good blogs; I love the fact that they are different from mine and that they are filled with wisdom from the Lord! Keep on blogging!
ReplyDeleteHere's a question TC - how does God distinguish between a healthy yearning (ie to become a better man) and an unhealthy one (power, money, a pretty girl on the arm)?
ReplyDeleteI picked two obvious ones there but there's clearly a huge grey area in between...
Good question Daz; without trying to bamboozle you with a smart or overly-philosophical answer, I would say primarily that God is the best reader of our hearts; even when we ourselves might think our motives are honest or healthy, God can discern the truth! I hope that's not a cop-out? I'll explain it on a personal level: when I have tried to serve God with a whole heart, I seem to run smoothly and things have gone well. When I haven't been serving God at all, even when I might have thought I was, I have encountered problems and setbacks. Your question is really how do we become better Christians? And my answer would be, to listen and put the Word of God into effect in our lives, in a practical way on a daily and on-going basis.
ReplyDeleteY'know TC, I worry because we are all capable of being dishonest, sometimes to others but most often to ourselves. Your point about the nature of yearnings in this context is a sound one.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your next installment and thanks for your continued enjoyment of bunny island!!
I really appreciate your comments Daz because you make your point so well and articulately.
ReplyDelete"Looking forward to your next installment and thanks for your continued enjoyment of bunny island!!" Thank you Daz, it's my pleasure!