We all want someone with whom we can cry, laugh, and share our hearts... someone who will love us unconditionally. And, we all need friends. Don't we? We think we do. After all, God made us to have meaningful relationships. Our desires are God given. He ingrained a need for companionship into our nature.
But only One Person can completely fulfill that need. The only absolutely necessary friendship is with One Friend. All others will fail us at some point. Until we are finding our fulfillment and worth in Christ, He may take away friends. He may choose to withhold our dreams from us.
We say that He is our All in All, but do we mean it, from our heart? His purpose is to bring us to the point where we are content with Him alone, willing that He bring anything, take anything in our life, and we still say "Blessed be the name of the Lord." If that means taking away our earthly "idols," that is what He will do. Until we find that He is sufficient. He is enough to meet every need, fulfill every longing. He is the only one who will truly love us unconditionally.
So, why won't these desires go away? Either God wants to fulfill them, or He has a higher purpose. A friend showed me some verses (Deut. 8:2-3), and they've been such a help and encouragement to me! I think they show quite clearly what sort of purpose He has is mind:
"And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth
not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live."
So, He's allowing these desires to see if I love Him more? He wants to see if I will do what I know is right, and come to Him with my heart? He wants me to find my worth and fulfillment in Him alone? Maybe He's saying, "Marissa, lovest thou Me? If you love Me, keep My commandments. I know it's hard, but I didn’t say it would be easy. I said I am with you."
The King of kings has promised to be with me, and He is faithful that promised. He cares enough to be my Friend, to take part in every detail of my life. All the love, encouragement, and affirmation I really need I can find in His Word and in prayer. Why do I so often insist He not enough? Well, He's still working on me. I want my prayer always to be, as Elizabeth Prentiss, "More love to Thee!" If He should call me to a life with only Him by my side, He will give grace to live it joyfully.
Printed December 2005, Hidden Wisdom Magazine, Vol.69. (See text at bottom of page for more information.)
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