book excerpt

this is an excerpt from a book I'm reading called 7 Longings of the Human Heart.


the longing for beauty: Feeling beautiful isn't natural for most people. wrong actions and attitudes run through our minds and we are likely to see the contrast between our weaknesses and His holiness. when our spirit is beautified even our outward person is touched in the power of that beauty... believers and non believers alike are drawn to a gentle person who reflects the beauty of God. It makes the true God stand out that he promises to make us beautiful with His own beauty. Psalm 149:4.


the longing for fascination: it is the nature of mankind to wonder and to explore, to uncover what is hidden, all in hopes of a new discovery. what all scientists and inventors have in common is that insatiable curiosity. Mankind has always searched for that something behind things, something deeply hidden. it drives us to explore, to wonder, and it is intended to drive us to God because it is a longing He put within us. as with other cravings, He always provides the ultimate and eternal fulfillment. in David's writing we see that despite being one of the most powerful men at the height of his reign, encountering God was the greatest focus of his life.
There are many important assignments we can have in this life but none will last forever. There will be a measure of fulfillment but we must look for something eternal to fascinate our hearts.


the human heart craves intimacy; the enemy seeks to exploit this by many avenues that offer a counterfeit intimacy which bring shame. This will minimize our chances of experiencing real intimacy and bring us loneliness. God was and is fully determined to draw near to us so that we have no shame. True intimacy is the empowering confidence to share the deepest parts of our hearts ...it requires confidence. Jesus will embrace us and keep our secrets.. intimacy involves our knowledge of Jesus' secrets as well.