MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Searching for Satisfaction: When God Creates Our Deepest Longings | Pastor Will Hawk | May 18th, 2025
Why are relationships so complicated? Why do our deepest desires sometimes feel impossible to satisfy? The answer might surprise you: God designed you this way on purpose.
In this profound exploration of Song of Solomon 3:1-5, we dive into what appears to be a young woman's midnight dream of searching city streets for her beloved. But beneath this passionate pursuit lies a universal truth about human longing that resonates across centuries.
God isn't surprised by your desires—He created them. Looking back to Genesis, we discover that longing predates sin. When God declared "it is not good for man to be alone," He first created the desire in Adam, then deliberately extended that longing by having him name all animals before bringing him Eve. Adam's response? "At last!"—the cry of a longing fulfilled.
Whether you're seeking love, purpose, belonging, or security, these desires reflect Eden's echo in your soul. The problem isn't the longing itself but where we look for satisfaction. We pursue relationships, career success, social approval, or material comfort, yet remain unsatisfied because these things were never designed to fill the God-shaped void within us.
Even Jesus experiences longing. He eagerly desired to share the Passover with his disciples and prays for believers to join him in eternity. In Revelation, he stands at the door of our hearts, knocking—not just to accomplish salvation but because he longs for relationship with us.
What will you do with your longings? Rather than resenting them, mature believers thank God for desires that continually point us back to the only One who truly satisfies. Your longings aren't mistakes—they're invitations to discover that Christ alone offers what your heart most deeply desires.
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Please turn in your Bibles to Song of Solomon, chapter 3, 1 through 5, which is on page 561 in the Pew Bible, and follow along as I read God's Word On my bed at night. I sought Him who my soul loves. I sought Him, but found Him not. I will rise now and go about the city. In the streets and in the squares I will seek him, whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. Have you seen him, whom my soul loves? Scarcely had I passed them. When I found him, whom my soul loves, I held him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house and into the chamber of her who conceived me. I adjure you, o daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. This is the word of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Amen, thanks, natalie. All right, I've been trying to give you what I've called squirm warnings every Sunday that we have been in Song of Solomon. This is a solid three out of five. Okay, this is, by the way. Next week is a four or a five out of five. So if you've been wondering when are we going to get there, next week and the following week would be probably the weeks that you are leaning into, and so, just so you know, I want to make sure everybody's in the loop on that. I also want to tell the folks who are in the back if you are hot because it is hot outside I know when you come in it's hard to see there is like an entire open pew here. If you want to brave it, a couple of seats here there, and then John will scoot over for one or two more, and so if you are too hot, just know. Yeah, way to go. They're either leaving or moving. I can't tell Robbie's taking it. All right, good stuff. Hey, I want what's good. I can't hear you. Oh, so go longer. All right, here we go. I got you. I got you. All right, oh, okay. Yeah, if it rains, you guys need to bring your chairs and bring your chairs in. That's no problem at all. What else, stokes, hey Stokes, make your announcement. Carry on, here we go. Song of songs. All right, squirrel morning. Three out of five. Next week will probably be a four out of five.
Speaker 2:And here's what I want you guys to know as we kind of parachute into this the scripture that was just read to us. I want you to realize there are four scenes in this and as we look at these four little scenes, there are a couple of questions that I want you to ask. These would be the questions that I would have you ask when we read this, even though it's in the Bible. Is this love that we're reading about being pursued biblically? Is it wise? Is it pure? Is this the kind of love that you would want for your sons or daughters? Is this the kind of love that God wants for you? Now, you may be saying well, this is the Bible. Of course it is all of those things. The story of David and Bathsheba is also in the Bible. So don't forget, just because it's in the Bible doesn't mean God's advocating it. He is teaching you something through it.
Speaker 2:Now, when I look at this text, I would respond very differently if it was my daughter who was saying this, compared to if it was my son. My son came to me last night very late in the night. He said hey, I wanna go hang out with a buddy. He's 16, he's got a license. I remember that. So I was like, just give me a 30 second download of what you're gonna do. He did I said may the Lord be with you, my son, and off he went. If my daughter even at 16, came to me and said that I would throw a flag, I'd be like where do you think you're going, young lady? Uh-huh, and who are you going to be with? What time are you going? There's just something different about daughters.
Speaker 2:The reason I say that is I want you to imagine for a moment if you're in the room and you have had children. You are of parent age. I want you to imagine this is one of your kids, sharing with you what's going on in their hearts and in their minds. If you're a kid, I want you to imagine sharing this with your parent. And here's how we're going to do it Everybody, take out your hand. You don't need to hold it up high. I'm not like shooting for conversions in this moment. I just want it to be high enough so that the person next to you can see what's going on on your hand.
Speaker 2:I'm going to read this line and I want you to give it a one, two, three, four or five. It's a five if, when I read this line, you would say, oh man, this is biblical. Hey, turn me up so I don't feel like I'm competing. Are you trying to? Okay, can y'all hear me in the back? Do I need to sweat it? Okay, good, all right, You're going to have a five. If you feel like these things are happening, you're going to put a one. If you're like I do not think this is good or healthy in a biblical relationship, all right, here you go.
Speaker 2:Verse, I love this. By the way, these are my absolute favorite Sundays. Weird Sundays are my favorite Sundays. You want to know why? You're not going to forget it. All right, I love this. All right. So here we go.
Speaker 2:Verse number one. She's unmarried, by the way, and here's what she says On my bed by night, I sought him who loves me. All right, what do you think? Is this super biblical Five? Super not biblical One? Just go ahead, put a number up. Let me see where you're at. Let me see where you're at. Okay, then it's loud and proud on his one. Okay, how about this?
Speaker 2:A young lady says I will rise now and go about the city. What time of day is it? It's nighttime. I'm going to go into the streets and into the squares. I'm going to seek him who my soul loves. One to five Is this what you want? Okay, lots of ones. You guys are not a very great people. You're ones and fives, kind of across the board. Where are my two, three, four people? All right, how about this? The watchman found me. These would be like the police. Theman found me. These would be like the police. The police found me as they went about the city.
Speaker 2:And now she's asking these strangers, have you seen him whom my soul loves? Scarcely had I gotten past them. When I found him, whom my soul loves, I held him. I wouldn't let him go. Just wait it gets better until I brought him to my mother's house and into the chamber that means bedroom of the one who conceived me. Let me see your numbers. Is anybody higher than a two?
Speaker 2:Okay, now, explain to me this, the very next line. I adjure you, o daughters of Jerusalem, I encourage you by the gazelles or does of the field symbols of love, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases, until the time is right, what are you going to give that one? Okay, how on earth, how on earth can we look at this young woman who is basically saying let me put this sort of in English it was nighttime. I couldn't stop thinking about my man. He wasn't there with me and we're not married yet, which is why he wasn't with me. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go out in the middle of the night. I'm going to walk through the downtown area looking for my guy. I'm going to ask anybody I find if they've seen him, and as soon as I see him, I'm getting my claws in him. I'm taking him home, we're going into my mother's bedroom and that is how we are going to call it a night, can I?
Speaker 2:By the way, if you haven't picked up on this, this is not prescribing what it is to pursue the Lord biblically. Can we all agree? There's a piece of us that's like that's not my advice to my daughter, can we agree? But somehow she ends it by saying hey, guys, ladies, best friends, don't wake up romantic love until it's too soon. How Well I hid something from you when I read this, and some of you may have been reading in your text and you may have noticed it.
Speaker 2:I wasn't just putting she there, so you know it was her. I didn't want you to realize that she's probably dreaming. Now there are two places in the Song of Solomon where we see something like this On my bed by night I sought, and we see something very similar in Song of Songs 5 when she says I slept but my heart was awake. I can't think of a better Old Testament way to say I'm dreaming, I'm asleep, but my heart, my mind, are still actively pursuing something. This is how she can explain 100% and the Bible can capture all of her longing. And it can end by saying guys, we want to do this right Now. I'm not going to ask for stories and I'm not going to ask for volunteers, but I will just tell you, as a guy who started dating his wife when I was 17 and married her when she was 23,.
Speaker 2:There were a lot of nights like this, and you can get squirmy or cringy in church if you want to. I'm just explaining to you the human condition that I know is true of all of us, and that is that this stage in their romantic love, there may be things that they physically cannot pursue, that their minds are longing for. That. The desires, the good godly desires that God has placed in every man and every woman. These desires exist, even if we are trying so hard to figure out. What can I do with these desires and glorify God? How can I do this?
Speaker 2:Let me tell you why I think this is a dream. I think there are a number of reasons, but one of the reasons is, just like the Bible invited us a week or so ago to their midday lunch, where she joined him at work, I think this is the Bible saying hey, your dreams matter. God knows what they are, he uses them. I don't know that he uses all of them. I was telling the group before we got ready for church today. My dream last night. My dream last night was Brad Evangelista and I were trying to find vanilla ice cream with colored sprinkles when a helicopter flew over and started shooting hypodermic needles at us to put us to sleep. I don't know If the Lord has something going on in that. I'm going to need an awful lot of clarity. Okay, somebody. Somebody told me I was desiring retirement and to rest. That's what I was like. That's actually pretty good. That's not bad. I feel like I got at least three more weeks in me, all right.
Speaker 2:When we look at this, there are a number of reasons. I think we can say this is a dream. Number one this young lady has been exceedingly careful where she goes. She wanted to join him at work a week ago but she said I need to know where you're going to be. I want to dress appropriately. I don't want to put out any signals to any other men that I'm available because I am yours and I am yours alone. She's been exceedingly careful for her all of a sudden to say nah, I'm just going to whoa, I don't know what just happened. Time out, don't read my personal notes. There you go. Oh, I don't know what just happened. Time out, don't read my personal notes. There you go. I'm going to go about in the city, or in verse 5, it even gets worse.
Speaker 2:He shows up. I slept, but my heart was awake. She's in bed. A sound, a sound. My beloved is knocking. He shows up at the door. Open to me. My sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one. Open the door. I want to come in, I want to spend time with you.
Speaker 2:Here is what she begins thinking in verse three. I'd put off my garment how could I put it on? She's got on her bedclothes, is what she say. It goes on I'd bathe my feet how could I soil them? Now, we don't think about life this way, but if you lived in an Old Testament time and you finally got your feet clean and you got in bed, you did not want to get up and walk through the area, which was incredibly disgusting and then get right back in your bed.
Speaker 2:So a couple of things could be happening. She could be teasing him. She could be saying oh, I've just put on my nightie, I can't possibly come to the door. Or she could be saying I just took my bath. It'll be a while before I can get there. I don't want to get my feet dirty. They're so clean right now. Maybe she's teasing him or maybe she's just legit tired. She's like why did you come so late? Right, like? I've been here the whole time. Where were you, my beloved? Put his hand to the latch, the door stops knocking and she hears the doorknob shake and her heart is thrilled within her. So, whether she was teasing or not, now she's starting to get warmed up to the concept of here is my guy. So she gets up. I arose to open the door to my beloved. My hands, though, were wet. They were dripping with something. So when she reaches the bolt, she can't get the door to open.
Speaker 2:This feels like a dream. It feels even more like a dream because when she finally opens the door, the dude's gone. All right, can I just tell you, if young ladies coming to the door, you're not like I got PlayStation time with the guys Gone. It's not how it works in the realm of humanity. The guy is gone, it says her soul fails. She seeks him, but she can't find him. She calls him, but he gives no answer. He was there one second ago. She gets the door open and he's gone. This feels much more like a dream. The watchman found me, but this time the cops aren't kind. It says. They beat me, they bruised me, they took away my veil, but nowhere in this text does God deal with them, nowhere in this text does her beloved deal with them. It feels like a dream that took a hard right turn into nightmare land, but she ends it the same way.
Speaker 2:Daughters of Jerusalem, I've got something to teach you. As she wakes up in the middle of the night realizing all of these longings that she has within her, she still reminds herself there's something for us to learn here, and in this case, she reminds herself there's only one guy. For her, this seems like a pair of dreams, one of the things I think the Bible makes very clear for us. Parents, please listen up. Even if you have been married for a long time, romantic relationships are complicated. Amen, okay.
Speaker 2:Romantic relationships are complicated. They're complicated if you're a believer. They're complicated if you're not a believer. They're complicated if one of you happens to be a believer and the other one does not. They're complicated when you're 10 years old, trying to figure out who you're going to give your valentine to, and they're complicated when you're 28 years old. Romantic relationships are complicated, and the Bible knows that there are no mistakes in this. So let me invite you into a question for the word why. Why are romantic relationships so hard? Why are they so difficult? Why are the nuances so hard to figure out? Why can I learn so much about so much in this world? But when it comes to understanding my wife, who I've spent 26 years with. At this point, I'm still scratching my head half the time why.
Speaker 2:There is something tucked into the human condition that God put there and he left there on purpose, and that thing that he put and that thing that he left is longing, and this is what the scriptures want you to see. It doesn't matter to me if you are single or married, if you are content or discontent. There is one thing that I know is true of everybody in this room you are longing for something and you want to tell yourself that you're longing for Jesus. But if you're honest with yourself, jesus is not the only thing that you are longing for, and you have to remind yourself time and time again. Heart, mind, soul, these things and thoughts that run through my head. I adjure you, o daughters of Jerusalem, go after the right thing, go after it at the right time, go after the right person, put things in the proper order, because I have a heart that won't stop longing. God's word wants you to see this. God's word wants you to feel. This Longing is something the Bible knows is true of you, because God created these longings.
Speaker 2:Now I want you guys to chase me for one moment down a rabbit hole. It's just going to take a second, but I think it's worth it, and it's going to teach you something for the rest of your life if you pursue Christ, if you're not pursuing Christ, I think this is going to be an annoying little question. That sort of scratches at the back of your mind. Not only did God create these longings, god created you too long. Now, before I go any further with this, I want you to actually answer this question. You don't have to answer it out loud, but I want you to. I almost cut out little slips of paper and put them everywhere, but I just ran out of time, too busy praying, you know pastors, all right, so I want you to actually answer this question.
Speaker 2:What are you longing for today? You do not need to have an impressive answer. You might just be longing for an afternoon that's calm. You might just be longing for your roof not to be leaking right now and you're like, oh, we've had issues. You might be longing for some level of security. Maybe you are longing for a romantic relationship. Maybe you're in a relationship that used to be romantic and it feels like that's long gone and you're longing for it again. What are you longing for today. You will serve yourself if you answer this.
Speaker 2:Before we go any further, let me show you something amazing, and I need to give a little bit of a trigger warning to my wife, trigger warning. When you and I got married, you were not happy with the ceremony. Okay, you were not happy with the ceremony because the pastor went way too long and because he all of a sudden just started talking about animals out of the blue. We've talked about this for the past 20 years. Okay, hey, I'm going to try to fix it today. I don't know that I can. I'm going to try. God created you to long. Chase me down this rabbit hole.
Speaker 2:When God created all things, this is before sin enters the world. Here is what we read the Lord, god, said it is not good that the man should be alone. That sentence, that little phrase, is nuts Good, good, good, good, good, good, good. Everything in all creation. He looks at Adam. He says it's not good, it's not good that you would be alone. So I'm going to make a helper fit for him. And everybody at the end of 18 is saying awesome, god's going to make woman. This is going to be incredible. Could you imagine the world without them. No, it'd be a hot mess, all right. So here God is. He's about to create woman, and Adam's heart is longing for it, so much so that God knows it. Now, watch what happens next for it. So much so that God knows it. Now, watch what happens next. I'm going to make a helper fit for him Now, out of the ground.
Speaker 2:The Lord God had formed every beast of the field, every, every bird of the heavens, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call him. Hey, uh, moses, when you put together the book of Moses, you made just one quick mistake. If you could just move 19 through 20 somewhere else, the rest of it will make sense. Remember, adam wanted something. So can we just get to verse 21? So the Lord God calls a deep sleep to fall upon the man. No, why does the Bible put it this way? Adam sees every beast of the field. He sees every bird of the heavens. They're brought to him. He has to name them.
Speaker 2:Verse 20, the man gave names to all the livestock, to all the birds, to every beast of the field. But the reason this whole little paragraph exists is because of that word. But God is saying I created a longing inside of him. I created a longing inside of you. Don't miss this. Give me your eyes for a minute. And then I made his longing longer. I could have immediately given him what he desired, but I wanted him to see all of the things that were not going to satisfy him. That's why 19 and 20 are there. That's why I think he started talking about every animal, because the very next thing that happens is it says Adam couldn't find anything suitable.
Speaker 2:Verse 21. So, after giving him a longing and elongating his longing for something good, the Lord, god, caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man he literally dreams, as God makes him the woman of his dreams, who, one chapter later, will usher in an entire nightmare for all of humanity. Not in my notes. Quick little note the girl of your dreams will also wreck your life, all right, the man of your dreams will also wreck your life. All right, the man of your dreams will also wreck your life because they were never meant to fulfill the entire longing. Keep watching.
Speaker 2:Verse 22,. The rib the Lord took from the man, he made into a woman and he brought her to the man. Then the man said I know nobody likes to be wrong in church. Does anybody know what Adam says when he finally sees Eve, which God brings down? You got to talk loud. I shall call her woman. Are you reading your Bible right now, thomas? Okay, say it. Here's what he says. Finally, finally, I've looked across all of creation and there was nothing to satisfy my longing. Now, why am I asking you to chase a rabbit with me through Genesis, chapter two? Because I want you to have a theology of longing. And the reason I want you to have a theology of longing is because it's not going anywhere. When I finally started dating the girl that TBS told me was going to satisfy my life, that Ferris Bueller convinced me was going to make everything fine. As soon as that happened, do you know what happened? Another longing stepped right in, and then another, and then another, and that has been the past 26 years of my life with my wife. Now you may be completely different than me. You may be far more godly and far more holy, but I will tell you this is something that I needed when I was eight years old, 18 years old, 48 years old and beyond.
Speaker 2:God creates longings. Whatever you wrote down somewhere, you may have even been honest enough to write down something sinful. But underneath it, behind it and around it, there is this thing that God created you to desire. That is good, and it is not good for you to not have it. But Just as Adam has to watch this entire parade of animals, god also stretches the time of longing. It is not good for you to get what you want too quickly. It is good for you to realize that there is a God who knows what you want, walks with you when you do not have what you want, and then ultimately fulfills the longing. So what are you longing for Now? Look, I just picked four categories that are pretty common across all of humanity. My guess is, 90% of the stuff you wrote down is going to fit under one of those four categories, but I don't know which one it is.
Speaker 2:If you're looking for love and intimacy, great. You want to be known. You want to be desired, you want to be cherished and accepted. That is good. But if you don't recognize that God stretches and gives you these longings, you're going to tend to go towards casual sex. You're going to lean towards pornography. You're going to get in a relationship that is codependent. That's more on you taking than is on you giving. You're going to need constant affirmation all the time if you don't understand a theology of longing. But if you do, then what you will realize is that Christ offers a love that is sacrificial and enduring and unconditional and will outlast anyone that you will find.
Speaker 2:The question is, when it comes to this, what are you looking for? Maybe yours is more about purpose and meaning. You want to have this drive to do something that matters, something that's bigger than yourself. Of course you do. God is a creator. He made you in his image as one who makes things and builds things that last and that do things. But if you don't understand this, you're going to just have a huge pursuit of a career. You're going to be obsessed with success. You're going to live for achievement or live for comfort, to convince yourself that you have gotten there, rather than realizing Ephesians 2, that we are redeemed for a purpose, that is, for a kingdom that is bigger than ours, and it's so much bigger than whatever the number is on the mailbox that you drive home to.
Speaker 2:God gave you these desires. Don't long to fill them with things he would not. Maybe you just want to belong. You want a community, and why wouldn't you, all of us, were created with this need to be included and valued and meaningful. Even God himself resides in a trinity, this community of self-love and giving to one another.
Speaker 2:But if you don't have it, you're just going to become a people pleaser. You're going to change who you are, how you act, how you talk, the way you walk and what you wear, depending on the people that you are around. Why, when God would say don't you realize I'm offering you adoption into my family? You get to come into this place and not have to be impressive. The impressive thing about you is you're a hot mess. Who's trusting me? Or maybe it's security and peace? Maybe anxiety and struggle is true of you, will? I just want to be safe. I want to be stable. I want the chaos to die down? Well, of course you do. God created a world that was perfectly put together and ordered and he put you inside of it, and then sin has made a huge mess of the entire thing.
Speaker 2:But if you don't trust God's timing on longing, I can tell you what you're going to do. You're going to try to accumulate money. You're going to try to accumulate possessions or power so that you can convince yourself that you're finally secure, you finally have enough. When the days of difficulty come, you'll numb yourself when you get scared, through some form of addiction. When anxiety and fear rear up, you'll escape, and it could be anything from a substance to a screen or anything in between. You'll start trusting in a political ideology rather than the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And yet it's Jesus who says I'm the good shepherd, I'll leave 99 to make sure that you are secure and safe.
Speaker 2:Longing isn't your enemy, all these longings you have. Whatever was written on your paper and whatever you would write on it tomorrow, it is Eden echoing to you. You were built to long, and that was before sin came in. You were built to long. Today, you could even make the argument that longing isn't going anywhere. And why would we make that argument? Because Jesus longs.
Speaker 2:Jesus, in Luke 22,. He says I've been waiting to have this Passover meal with you, when I was in heaven watching and directing the course of nature, when my people were set free from Egypt. Thousands of years before this meal takes place, the Passover happens and Jesus looks at it and he says they don't even know that there's going to be 12 of us in the top of a room eating a meal together. They don't know that it's pointing to this. They don't know that that is pointing to a group of people in Harris County, georgia, columbus, georgia, getting together to eat a small piece of bread and a drink of juice, because it points us to a family that we never would have been able to get ourselves into, and that one day, that too even points to a meal that those of us who are believers will enjoy in heaven, when all of the scraps of paper have been folded up and tossed away.
Speaker 2:Jesus longs, father. I desire, I am longing for this that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my glory. When Adam said finally, when he looks at Eve and he realizes that he has what he's wanted, and he says at last, jesus is saying at last. When you close your eyes for the last time, christian, when you walk into eternity, jesus is saying at last. Haven't you, my child, been longing for this? Haven't you been wanting this? Welcome to a place where all of your longings don't go to die, but your longings increase as my sufficiency increases to meet them.
Speaker 2:Even in Revelation, I mean, we just had a guy who was standing at the door of the woman he loved. Hey, are you going to open up, are you going to let me in? And right now we see in Revelation 3.20,. Jesus says Behold, I stand at the door and knock. This is spoken to all of us in the room. If you are not a believer. Do you realize that, just as that young lady had all of these cute little excuses, her cute little teases, now was in a convenient time. I just washed my feet. I just got this done. Today isn't really the best Sunday for me to do work with Jesus. I've got some things that I've got to get back to. We made lunch plans right after I told somebody that I would help them afterward.
Speaker 2:Do you realize that Jesus stands at the door of your heart and he's knocking and he's just saying how long am I going to have to do this? How long until you open to me? I am longing to say at last he has come to me. At last I will call. And the thing is, jesus isn't just trying to accomplish something, he's not just trying to get one more name in the book of heaven. I want to be with him, I want to eat with him, I want him to be with me. This is intimacy, this is knowing and being known in the deepest, fullest ways that the person sitting next to you can never fulfill, or the person that you're convinced, if there was a person sitting next to you would fulfill. No, even Jesus longs for these things, and if his longings haven't disappeared, longings haven't disappeared Should you expect that yours will? Can I just be very practical with you? This is why I love being a preacher.
Speaker 2:I would have really enjoyed doing, I think, a lot of things in life, but the fact that God has given me the privilege to tell you. I know your wants, haven't stopped wanting, but I can tell you who gives and actually satisfies. I can tell you that that scratch of paper is going to be written 10,000 times before some of you die, but there is someone who you can go to and you will just let go of it the fount that never stops flowing, the bread that satisfies the lamb who was slain from the beginning of the world so that you could come into a family where you finally feel at home. What are you going to do with your longings? I'll tell you what you need to do with them. You need to teach them something. The Bible tells us all the time to teach our feelings. I don't know if you know that the Bible tells us all the time to teach our feelings. I don't know if you know that Many of the Psalms are Psalms coming and saying I feel this way. But God, but the word, but the truth. Can I tell you what you need to teach your longings? You need to teach them a couple of things. Notice the words here.
Speaker 2:I have learned this is not something that comes naturally, in whatever situation. I would say that's pretty comprehensive. I am to be content. You want to be content in any and every situation. You need to learn something. This is not. I miss my quiet time, darn it. I'm just not going to be content today. This is not. Oh man, I missed out on church last week. I guess I'm just going to struggle. You can teach your soul by the word of God, through the spirit of God, to be content, but you will never be able to do it if he isn't your fully satisfying thing. If this is happening and you're not opening the door, I'm gonna show you the promised land, but you will only ever see it from the other side of the window.
Speaker 2:Draw near to him. Why? So that you can learn to be content. So that you can know how to be brought low. You can know how to abound. I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger. Did you realize that facing plenty is something you need to know how to do? Well as well, I know how to be in abundance. I know how to be in need.
Speaker 2:And then comes the verse that everybody loves, including Tim Tebow, on his eye paint I can do everything through Christ, who strengthens me. This is not about running faster or lifting more. This verse is saying do you want to know that you can actually do this? You can trust him. You can trust him regardless of which one of these four things you have been convinced will fix your longing. You actually can trust him. You make known to me the paths of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures. Forevermore, I am the bread of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures. Forevermore, I am the bread of life.
Speaker 2:Whoever, anyone who comes to me won't hunger and they won't thirst. Why? He satisfies the longing soul which, by the way, he put there so that you would never be satisfied until you came to something that is all satisfying. You want to know what a Christian does with the longings that aren't met. Yes, they get on their knees and pray. Yes, they weep out to the Lord. Yes, they go into community and they say will you enter into this with me?
Speaker 2:But do you want to know what a mature Christian does with a longing that won't go away? Here's what they do. Thank you, lord, thank you, thank you that you have built me to want. Thank you that nothing but Christ will satisfy. Thank you that I can know you have placed this here not as a mistake that I am not broken. This is not a bug, this is an intentional thing. You have placed this here, not as a mistake. That I am not broken. This is not a bug, this is an intentional thing. You have placed in me so that I will, day by day, thought by thought, moment by moment, know there's nothing that is gonna satisfy me but Jesus.
Speaker 2:And when that becomes the chorus of the song of your soul, all of a sudden things begin to change. All of a sudden you open the door every time Jesus knocks, because why wouldn't you? He is the one that fully satisfies. All of a sudden we get up and we walk when we have never stood up and walked before. All of a sudden we tell our longings chill out.
Speaker 2:The goal is not for you to be fulfilled, that's one thing. The goal is for me to realize God put something here that is good. What is it? God is walking me through something long. Why is he? And I know that one day that longing will be fulfilled when it's at the right time and the right place, with the right person, which, by the way, is the biblical definition of wisdom in relationships the right place, at the right time with the right person. Get any of those things off and you will realize how difficult and complicated relationships can be. But the best of news is this God is always the right person, it is always the right time to come to him and you do not need to be here to do it.
Speaker 2:But since you're here, might we as well meet with the one who placed longings in you and wants you to find their fulfillment in him.
Speaker 2:Let us draw near to the Lord together. We respond a few ways. Every Sunday. I always tell you you can walk out in the back and just kind of walk through and pray. You might not want to do that, unless you have your galoshes on, but you can just make this space yours and quietly pursue the Lord Kneel. If you need to kneel, remain seated. If you need to sit, stand and sing with more fervor than you have sung before to the one who fulfills every longing that he has placed inside of you. Or if you want to talk, if you have questions, if you need to receive prayer, if you just want to celebrate something going on in your life, we'll have a couple of pastors who will go out on the back porch, but let's draw near to the one who never stops knocking at the door of our heart and says all of those longings I put there, who are you going to go to to find their fulfillment? I hope you will come to Christ and if you need help with that, we will help you.