An icy hand is gripping England as we experience the first real deep freeze of the season. Today the sun is bright, skies blue, winds calm, and the air is dry. The frost covered stone tiled roofs give the one warning sign to those resting unaware in the warmth of their blankets. A brief step outside gives one an encounter you will not soon forget; the intensity of the cold permeates every corner of your body.
Last night I read several devotionals written while two friends were in Finland. They spoke of broiling saunas, inky black icy waters, pink (hot) skins, gray (extremely cold) bodies, and friendship. The intensity of each metaphor and experience struck me as something I look for in life. Casual friends establishing memories and bonds that nobody can ever break. New links in a shared journey forever intertwined. A shared intensity forged by God himself.
Increasingly I find anything that is not intense, rather boring and mundane. I initially thought that it was the lack of excitement or the thrill of living life on the edge that drove my response. I now see things differently. God created each of us with a thirst for the divine. A desire within our souls to know and experience relationship with God himself. There is nothing casual about the drive and thirst; it is as intense as the will to live.
Remember, God “got this all started, down to the very last letter.” (Romans 16.26) God created us, formed us in His image, and then gave us the freedom to choose. We made a mistake; however, this did not change the need created within our souls. We hunger for this relationship with God in ways that we can never understand, but that does not change the reality and intensity of our longing.
God alone can and will satisfy. It is through our relationship with Him, the experience of grace, mercy, love, and shared steps together with the Divine in which we find our longing quenched. God alone is our answer. Come; let us seek Him together.
