My
Time With Beth Moore
A great
quote I read earlier this week from a blog called, "Heart of the
Matter" stated, "This longing, this ache, this pulsing of the deepest
part of who you are is the reason why you're here. Do not confuse it with
desire. Desire is wanting what you don’t have, Longing is wanting what you
do." This quote directly ties into
what Beth Moore shared with us at the Biloxi Living Proof Live Event. Through her sharing of stories, scripture,
and worship, Christ really transpired a beautiful message to everyone in the
facility. There was LOVE, JOY, PEACE,
PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNEES, GENTLENESS, and SELF CONTROL. The Fruit of the Spirit embodied us all. Of
course we went early to get a good seat. So waiting nearly 1 and 1/2 hour to
begin I glanced around taking in all of the people that surrounded me. There
were no two the same, but all of us alike were there with a longing for God,
for worship, and a renewed spirit.
Doesn't this make us all the same in one sense? As the music started, we
all stood to our feet. Me not knowing the words to sing, I just swayed to the
rhythm and felt my own sense of longing for our God, as I began crying without
even knowing it. It took two full songs
of crying before I realized I probably wasn't the only one that didn’t know the
words. Everyone else had just notice the words were displayed on the 8 regular
sized screens surrounding the stage as well as the 4 HUGE screens on each side
of the stage. After that, I think
everyone's mouth in the Coliseum was singing praise and lifting their hands up
as high as they could reach. It was certain we were all longing for our GOD.
Beth
quickly followed in after the music ended with a big opening question for us….
"Which would you rather have fulfilled, a Longing or a Desire?"
Then, she had each of us turned to our neighbor, tell them our answer, and
explain why. Me sitting in the middle, I kept quiet while taking in my mother's
answer and my sister-n-law's. It was an
easy out for me! I challenge each of you
to think about your answer for yourself as well. A desire
is defined as "the feeling of wanting something," "to
crave," and even "to covet." A Longing is defined as "A strong persistent desire of a
craving, especially for something unattainable or distant." Ok well,
so a desire should be easy to satisfy, and a longing "too much work?"
But if a desire is fulfilled, are we then satisfied or is it a mere second and we
are on to the next want or wish? This
was exactly Beth's point.
When
God made man, it tell us in Genesis that God created man in his own image,
in the image of God, he created them; male and female he created
them. Then in Colossians 1:16 we are told
"For in him all things were created. Things in Heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether on thrones, with powers, or rulers, or
authorities; All things have been created through him and FOR HIM." So, what do we long for? What is our
persistent craving that we are all striving towards: To be with our Father, To be Made Perfect
in him, To be with our family, friends, people of all nations where there is no
suffering, and no sadness, but just that pure endless joy of Salvation. So, we
were created by God, in the image of God, For God! Our purpose here is to SERVE God.
Often
times we will be wrapped up in our everyday lives, where it almost takes
"hitting a brick wall" before having to stop and ask God to help us
get through it. Beth helped me realize that's not the kind of God we have. He is not a "one-call, that's-all"
quick fix. He is a father of mercy, of compassion, of forgiveness, and the most endless
loves imaginable. He wants me to
seek him all day, if I'm happy, if I'm sad, if I'm bored , or if I'm busy. Put
him in the moment with me and I'll come out of the other side going, "Wow,
that was so much easier than it could have been." When we ask God to be
our savior, and welcome him into our hearts, he is sealed in us by his holy
spirit. He will not banish that from us or give it to us on a loan. It is there we are marked as his, and we are
always forgiven for our sins. God bought
us at a mighty price. He loves us so much he gave his son for us, so we know is
"For us." (Romans 8:31 If God
is for us, who can be against us?)
Beth
asked the audience if anyone had ever had an experience where we knew with
absolute certainty God was present. I
immediately thought of Walker and all the miscarriages I had been through
before him. I thought of that moment in
the sonogram room when I fully trusted God, and he showed me his mercy. It made
me think of all God had done for me. She
said as great as whatever experience we may have had, that was simply a taste
of what is to come. That was simply a taste from "'A' tree of life" but not as great as the taste
of "'The' tree of life"
will be. She said imagine what it will
be like when we go home to be with our King and are standing in front of "'The' tree of Life!"
Can you even imagine? Our best experiences on earth are but a mere taste of a
small fraction of what it will be like. That still amazes me!
Our
faith gives us hope in what is to come.
Therefore if we Love God and Have faith in him then we must have hope
and not give up on one another or our circumstances. This immediately hit home for me as well with
my oldest brother. As I could relate to
wanting so desperately to give up on Hunter after all he has done, but I
realized I must have hope for him because I have faith in our Lord. Hunter can leave this town, and he can escape
our family, but he will never escape
the sovereign Love of God.
Beth
Moore made another great point also when she asked, "Do we sometimes
get so busy missing those who aren't here that we are missing those who
are?" Oh, how true a statement.
Let's don’t ever forget those here with us because we are "longing" for those who are
not. Be Present with those we have. Be
present, and be thankful!
All of
this and that's just scratching the surface of my weekend…. Beth Moore helps
break it down for all of us that need for it to be "Spelled out" in
"Black & White," Ha! She gave us 9 key points during our time there and luckily since I'm sharing my
experience, I wrote them all down.
·
(1) All
Our Longings Lie Open Before The Lord. 1 Chronicles 28:9 tells us that God searches
every heart and understands every motive behind our thoughts. So God understands where our Longings are
coming from. Psalm 38:9 says "All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you."
·
(2) If
It's Not Long, It's Not A Longing.
This I think we can all relate too. See the word "Long-ing"
·
(3) If
It Never Aches, It's Not Intense Enough For A Longing. In
Matthew 23:37, We are told that Jesus grieved over Jerusalem, he,
himself stated, "How often I have longed
to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing,
but you were not willing!" Sometimes we long for something so bad that
it becomes a physical ache, "A
Thirst of our Souls."
·
(4) A
Longing Fulfilled Is "A Tree Of Life" (not "The" Tree but "A" Tree). Proverbs 13:6 says "Hope deferred makes
the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is" A" tree of life. What God prepared us for, he also gave
us a longing for. So in a sense, we have been "rigged" in our
longings. Beth Moore is big on breaking
down a word and giving Greek translations.
Longing in Greek is OREGO, and means "to stretch out or to reach
out for something especially with the hands."
·
(5) If
God Prepared It, We Were Wired To Long For It. In John Chapter 14,
Jesus tells us, "Do not let your hearts be troubled, I go to prepare a
place for you", and that he is coming back for us, and that we know the
way to the place. Ecclesiates 3:11 says he also "set eternity in the
hearts of men." Everything longs, 1 Peter 1:12, tells us that even
"angels long to look into salvation." Matthew 23, Jesus
"longs" for us. Isaiah 31, the Lord longs to be gracious to us. All
of our longings will be met in Christ. Beth
Moore puts it this way-"Thirst
is to the Body, What Longing is to the Soul!"
·
(6) We
Were Created To Long For Companionship.
Every longing was created to be reciprocated. When you truly love
someone you have a built in longing for them. 2 Timothy 1:4- Paul wrote, "Recalling
your tears, I long to see you, so
that I may be filled with joy."
·
(7) Lust
Is The Souls Demand To Shortcut A Longing Fulfilled. Lust and greed
become a grave for us, as
explained in John, Chapter 4 when Jesus asked the Samaritan women for a drink of
water at the well. He tells her whoever
drinks the water at the well be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water he
gives them will never thirst again. He says "the water I give him will
become a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Lust is sinful and will only lead to a new
thirst. It most certainly won't quench
our souls longing. A short cut will just
leave you coming up short.
·
(8) We
Long For Grace. Isaiah 30:18 tells us "the Lord longs to be gracious
to us. He rises to show us compassion.
For the Lord is a God of Justice, Blessed are those who wait for Him!"
(The Bible even puts an exclamation point here!!!) If we wait for him to fulfill our Longing
for Him, we will be just that, blessed.
·
(9) We
Long For God! At the end of the
day everything we long for is identified in Him.
How
amazing as she closed her event she did so with the very scripture my brother,
Sterling used to live out the last 10 & 1/2 years of his life to serve the
Lord. She had us turn to 2 Timothy 4:8.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. Now there is in store for me a
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me
on that day-and not only to me but also to all who have 'LONGED' for his appearing."
But wait, that's not all. That wasn't
the end for Sterling or for Paul who wrote this passage in his last days,
because then she had us turn to Revelation
22 1&2, "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the
middle of the great street of the city.
On each side of the river stood "THE Tree of Life" bearing 12 crops of fruit, yielding its
fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations." See that image in your
mind. See that image when you think you can't.
See our Lord awarding you, your crown of righteousness. See yourself
surrounded by all those who have "Longed"
for your salvation waiting for you right under "'THE' TREE OF LIFE." Imagine how good it will be at
that point when you, fully restored in your perfect body are with your King and
Savior. Won't you too look back and say, "It was all worth Eternity with
You," because we know Christ will! Amen!
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