Come to Him with your longings

“What if instead of coming to God with your expectations, you learned to come to Him with your longings?  What if you brought your doubts, your dashed hopes, and your desires to God, trusting that He loves you and wants your story to have a hope-filled ending?”- Lina AbuJamra

In Chapter 2 (“Why Did My Story End Up This Way?”) of Fractured Faith, Lina AbuJamra talks about what happens when we find ourselves stuck in a life we don’t feel we deserve.  As a result, we end up going through the motions.  And although we live, we’re not really alive.

Furthermore, we believe no one notices.  Yet, the signs are everywhere.  For example, Lina observes, one sign = our smiles that don’t quite reach our eyes.  Also, we consider just showing up a virtue.  Perhaps, Lina admits God will reward our tenacity.

However, year after year, the cost on our soul continues to grow.  And we fail to notice our anemic and inauthentic efforts.  So, while we say one thing and live one narrative, inside we’re wasting away.  Most significantly, Lina’s convinced this is true for many Christians.  Even though they attend church and read their Bibles, they struggle with their faith.  Lina explains:

“We’re afraid to admit that the Christian life we’re living isn’t what we expected it to be.  When our Christianity hasn’t lived up to our expectations, it’s important to stop and figure out why. . . .  Could God be using our unmet expectations to propel us into a specific purpose?  What if our expectations were merely a tool meant to draw us closer to God instead of further away from Him?” (emphasis Lina’s)

However, Lina states, many people wrestling with their faith simply quit.  They leave the church searching for something else, somewhere else.  Even though they tell themselves they still love Jesus, a subtle inner shift takes place.  And their faith erodes.

So, Lina stresses, we must start as we make the connection between longing, desire, and expectations.  That takes place in tomorrow’s blog.

Today’s question: What most helps you come to Him with your longings?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The depth of the lie we embrace”