How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Psalm 84:1-2
I shared briefly on Sunday that God and I have been on a journey together lately. One that has been uncomfortable, even painful at times, as God is clearly trying to do some deep work in me. As I have continued to go deeper and deeper I have come to realise something – something that may be incredibly obvious to many of you; something we speak about all the time; something that has been made alive in me in a very fresh and new way.
JESUS IS ENOUGH
JESUS IS ALL THAT MATTERS
I find myself in conversations about church growth and revival; how to draw people into the life of the church; how to evangelise effectively; what to say; how to say it; how to live in a way that people want to understand more of the difference in me. These days I jump onto social media and see ad after ad promoting some kind of school or course for spiritual development, or help finding your spiritual gifts, or worship leader training. There is article after article speaking about “top 10 tips for church growth”, or “7 signs you’re in a dying church.” It can be overwhelming.
I have been reflecting on this psalm lately – Psalm 84. It wasn’t written by David, as many would assume, but is from The Sons of Korah. Truthfully, I’m not really sure who they were…. but my goodness they clearly knew what it meant to be so captivated by God that it consumed them.
King David also used language like this in Psalm 63:1:
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
Have you ever been so thirsty or hungry that it overwhelms you and becomes the only thing you think about?? (I believe the term for this is “HANGRY”)
It is this kind of all consuming longing that both David and the Sons of Korah are talking about in these psalms. And this is the kind of all consuming desire we should have for Jesus.
Do you?
Can you truthfully say that Jesus is enough for you?
Here is the one of the things I am learning – This kind of all consuming, completely captivating, soul penetrating desire is absolutely infectious, attractive and intriguing. Spending time captivated by Jesus and all that he is and has done for us will be all that is needed to draw people. It will be all that is needed to inspire people. It will be all that is needed to grow deeper. Because JESUS IS ENOUGH – HE IS ALL THAT MATTERS.
Rather than searching for happiness – SEARCH FOR JESUS
Rather than chasing some illusive feeling of fulfilment – CHASE JESUS
Rather than aiming for some kind of atmosphere – AIM FOR JESUS
Rather than desiring all the spiritual gifts – DESIRE JESUS
Rather than being desperate for God’s blessings – BE DESPERATE FOR JESUS
Jesus is the only one that will ever fully satisfy.
And the thing is – when we are completely sold out for Jesus and run after him with everything we’ve got – the rest of it will fall into place.
– Brony
