Yearnings, Cravings, and the Giving of Thanks
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds (a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy), yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (Amplified Bible)
From the moment of birth we’re craving.
Love.
Food.
Acceptance.
Comfort.
Understanding.
Knowledge.
Why is it so hard for mankind to acknowledge this stirring of the heart, mind and soul as being divinely implanted deep within each of us at conception, that we might seek Him, the One who created us?
He gives us glimpses of Himself everywhere, and yet we do not see Him.
And so we crave all the more. Consuming all that He’s given, and yet we fail to see Him, the One we actually crave.
We fail to say thanks because we don’t stop to see how intricately everything is connected by the One who holds all things together. (Colossians 1:16,17)
All we touch, all we see, all we hear, all we hold dear, all that surrounds us, all we’ve been given, all we stand in awe and wonder of is actually His presence. His wooing us to Himself.
Recently I stand awestruck looking down at a tiny creature crossing the dirt road I was walking, I’d never seen anything like it. It looked like a red tick. (I later learned it’s a red velvet mite.) I captured a picture of it, thanked God for allowing me to see something of His creation I’d never seen before, and then I found myself craving more. Like a child with an “I Spy” book, my eyes keep searching, yearning, craving for more.
But more what?
More creation? More victories? More gifts to record?
No, it’s that implanted desire for God, that I might seek Him in all my cravings.
Each gift He gives is so I will crave Him more and be satisfied only in the giving of thanks to Him in all things.
He speaks to my cravings.
Be sensitive today to My presence in the world around you.
Let My Spirit awaken your senses to the sublime, to all natural beauty.
Smell the flowers along the way with deeper joy, watch the scurrying of a bug with greater amusement, feel the wind upon your face as a friend.
Put your hands on the earth; feel its pulse. Loving My world is a form of humility because you must put your inner conflicts aside to communicate with life outside yourself.
Can you appreciate the sunlight streaking across a wall?
Can you see skilled art in rivers of rain marking a dusty, pollen filled window?
If your heart is over-powered with the drumbeat of worry, you will miss the anthem of a sunset.
You’ll miss My sigh of love for you.
Marsha, I loved the picture of the unique bug, made me think of how often we miss out on the uniqueness of God just because we arent looking closely enough. I pray that deep down in my soul, that I will have such a craving for Him that I will never be satisfied. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your discovery Marsha. This is my prayer also, that I may crave more of Him.
I love this Marsha! My blog is Eternity Cafe and Eccl 3:11 is the signature verse – there is an eternal perspective to everything that happens here on earth and I want to expose it!! lol
Blessings,
Susan
Sometimes we just ‘rush’ through life; we don’t notice all the beauty around us. May I take it all the beauty in He surrounds us with.