Isaiah 30:18 "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you: He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him." (NIV)
"Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore, He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice. How blessed are all those that long for Him. (NAS)
Are you longing for Christmas? Are the kids in your family and those you know longing for that day they can open presents? How about you? Have you ever longed for something? I mean, really wanted something so badly that you could hardly stand it?
My first baby was supposed to arrive before Mother's Day in 1996, but she was three weeks late, and God had other plans. This was my miracle baby that I had prayed and prayed for. She should have been here by Mother's Day, at least that's what I thought. I longed to have and hold my little baby girl.
I can think most recently to just a few weeks ago. My husband went to Tanzania for two weeks. Things were crazy at work for me, and those were perhaps the longest two weeks of my life. We have two kids in two different schools that start and end at two different times. Those were two rough weeks for me, and I was counting the minutes for him to land and make it home. Yes, I longed for his return.
With the Christmas season upon us, what about the characters in the Christmas story? Think about Mary. Can you imagine how she longed to hold baby Jesus, this child she carried for nine months, this promised One from God? As much as I longed to hold my new baby, I can only imagine what Mary felt like! And what about the shepherds? I think Luke 2:16 says it all, "They came with haste and found Mary, Joseph, and the babe, lying in the manger." Yep, I dare say each of them knew what it meant to have a longing in their hearts.
Now that you've conjured up those longing feelings, let's look back to the verse. The Lord longs to be gracious to you. Imagine that. God desperately wants to be gracious...to me! I read this verse in my quiet time last week and was astounded by it. I just sat there and read and re-read, pondering every word. I mean, how amazing is it that God in heaven longs to do good things for me? And how awesome is it that God blesses us for longing for Him? It is unfathomable to me, actually!
Now think about one of those times when you've personally longed for something. Have you ever had just as much energy and emotion directed toward God in that same way? If not, why? If so, is it a faint memory, or is it a constant directive in your life? You know, the best present we can give God this Christmas is our presence. I don't know about you, but that's what I want to give this Christmas...myself. It's actually the only thing I can give to my Heavenly Father that matters. It's the only gift He wants. He longs for this gift, and I should long to give it, too. Me. 100% all of me. What's it going to be this Christmas? Presents? or Presence?
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com