journey of desire

 i recently finished john eldredge's "the journey of desire". i've probably had it for 4 years, and didn't pick it up until recently. i am definitely a big john eldredge fan. ever since reading the sacred romance in high school, i've been hooked.

here are some things i read that are good thought-provokers :)

" 'There is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess.' And why do we seek to possess? So that we do not have to live in thirst, trusting our hearts each day to the goodness of God. To live in thirst is to live with an ache. Every addiction comes from the attempt to get rid of the ache. How is it possible to satisfy an insatiable desire? Merely trying sets us on an unending chase that leads us farther and farther from home."

how true is this?! if we find something good, or something we like, we have to have it. we desire so many things, and i really think it all boils down to trying to fill that void in our lives that only Christ fills. we live in a society where every need is fulfilled immediately because we have everything at our fingertips. i remember thinking for the longest time that, as uncomfortable life would be in a country where i had no freedom, it would be the best thing to happen to my relationship with the Lord. basically, the more we are left to deal with our longing for God, the better. this is hard for us though, because we are surrounded by things that can "meet our needs" here and now.

"You can be satisfied, says Pascal; you just can't be sated. There is great joy in a glass of cabernet; the whole bottle is another story. Intimate conversation satisfies a different thirst, but how awful to try to arrange for it again the next night and the night after that. The Israelites tried to hoard the manna-- and it crawled with maggots. Our soul's insatiable desire becomes the venom Pascal warns of when it demands its fill here and now, through the otherwise beautiful and good gifts of our lives"

again, just that when we find something good, we want our fill of it. i love what he pointed out about the israelites and the manna. when God gives us something good, we want all we can get, but all we need is our daily portion. we don't need to hold on to anything besides Him. we're simply not meant to. nothing is meant to satisfy us besides the Lord. even the good things He gives. He knows very well, we will replace Him as the top spot of our lives with the things he provides.

"In this posture we discover that, indeed, we are expanded by longing. Something grows in us, a capacity if you will, for life and love and God. I think of Romans 8:24-25: 'That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy' (the message). There is actually a sweet pain in longing if we will let it draw our hearts homeward."

i like this. patience really is hard. its hard to want something and to have to wait. if we never allow ourselves to wait patiently, we miss out on growth. i love the idea of gaining a capacity for "life and love and God" in the waiting. i am really thankful that the Lord doesn't provide on my schedule. 

i highly recommend any john eldredge book you can get your hands on. i feel like every one of them talks about our hearts, and that probably can get repetitive for some people, but i think there is something there for sure. 

have you all read any that you love? what is your favorite?