January 16: My Whole Being Longs for You
My God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. King David
Gregg’s Reflection
As a young man, growing up with Vietnam and Watergate, I lost faith in many institutions. I found myself haunted by a sad question: ‘Is this all there is?’ As the son of an entrepreneur, I was expected to follow my father into the family eee business. Was this the deal—go to school, then go to work, and spend decades chasing happiness through success and financial reward?
What I now call Holy Discontent stirred deep within me. The spark of God in me was seeking connection with the God beyond me, though I couldn’t name it then. I didn’t grow up Christian, so I didn’t know what my soul hungered for. When I read Carlos Castaneda’s The Teachings of Don Juan, I was caught by the phrase The Path with a Heart. The sorcerer Don Juan taught that for every warrior there is a path, and to follow the Path with a Heart is the best one can do.
When a fire destroyed our apartment and all our wedding gifts, Genie and I took the insurance money, bought camping gear, and headed west looking for that path. God revealed Himself to me in the Rockies and in the canyon country of Utah. Years later, I was baptized into the Christian faith, but my earliest experiences of the Spirit left me earnestly seeking God.
My prayer life unfolded slowly. For years, I went to church and small groups, but didn’t spend much time in Scripture or prayer. I was too busy proving myself in business, loving my family, and learning leadership in the church. That busyness kept me at a distance from my depths. Over time, meditation became my most direct experience of God. Now, I spend time each morning with Scripture, the saints and mystics, writing, and contemplation. Wisdom seeps in when we slow down and rest in God.
The dawning of a grateful heart became a milestone in my spiritual journey. I realized much of my success came from being a tall, white man, son of an entrepreneur, in one of the greatest eras of economic growth the world had ever seen. Letting go of the need to take credit, and embracing the truth that “all is grace and nothing is simply the result of hard work,” brought humility and right relationship with God.
Scripture
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Psalm 103:1
Ancient Quotes
To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement.
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book X, ch. 27
Modern Quotes
Prayer is not a way of being busy with God instead of with people. In fact, it unmasks the illusion of busyness, usefulness, and indispensability. It is a way of being empty and useless in the presence of God and so of proclaiming our basic belief that all is grace and nothing is simply the result of hard work.
Henri Nouwen, Nouwen Society Daily Devotional, 5/13/20
Journaling Prompts
- How do you experience longing for God—physically, emotionally, spiritually?
- What does your soul hunger for in this season?
- How might you respond to that longing with intentional practices?
- What will it take in your life to pierce the illusion of busyness, usefulness, and indispensability to find joy in being empty and useless in God’s presence?
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 3 reflection: Being vs Doing