Yearn

“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” (Psalm 12:5 NKJV)

This verse is written on my heart.This was one of those verses that leap out at you when you read it, even though it may have been read many times before. I was in a dark place in my life, I had  been reading through Psalms so I decided to carry on from where I had left off, which turned out to be Psalm 12. When I got to verse 5 I realised that God was speaking directly to me. This verse became mine. The Holy Spirit gave me the faith to realise that this was not just a general promise but a specific promise to my life. The “HIM”  in the verse was me.

The wonderful aspect of this verse is that I have never doubted that it is for me. I declare it over myself. I remind myself of it when I am feeling down. I know that God is placing me in the safety which I have always yearned.

Let’s have a look at that word yearn.  The dictionary definition says “have an intense feeling of longing for something, typically something that one has lost or been separated from.” Synonyms include, long for, want, hanker, desire, pine, ache languish, hunger, crave, thirst, hope etc.

Now we’ll look at the word safety. Dictionary says “the state or quality of being safe; freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger, or loss”. Synonyms include, cover, defence, refuge, immunity, sanctuary, safeguard, assurance preservation etc.

If you mix and match the synonyms of safety and yearning together you have the picture of my life before God gave me this verse. Hungry for refuge! Thirsty for assurance! Craving sanctuary! Longing for covering!

What I want you to realise is that I was a Spirit filled, God loving man. I was still, however, longing for something. I hadn’t found the safety I yearned for. How can that be you may ask? Even if you didn’t ask, I am still going to tell you !! I believe I was still yearning because, firstly,  I was looking in the wrong place for the answer! I kept on looking for people to make me safe, to give me security and comfort. It’s acceptable, as a child, to look to the people around you to keep you safe but as you grow older it becomes a bit of an issue. The danger is that you become co-dependent on those around you and they easily let you down because they are human. Sadly this is true even if you are looking for security from the people in your church! For me rejection appeared to be the norm. I knew in my head that God loved me but I didn’t understand what that meant in my heart. I don’t think I understood what love was all about.

Through the verse, God showed me it was His job to place me in security.

Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” (Psalm 12:5 NKJV)

It is His job alone. All I needed to do was place myself in the position to receive it. I literally had to stop searching for my needs and wants to be met in the way that I thought they should be. I had to trust that God actually did know best!!

This brings me to the second reason for me not receiving the fullness of God’s love. I still felt that it was up to me to show that I deserved God’s love. Somewhere  I believed that I had to earn it. Even though I knew Jesus died on the cross for me, I felt that for God to love me fully I mustn’t make mistakes and fall into the same sin time and time again. If I did. I obviously couldn’t be loved by God. Basically I was telling Jesus that although He died on the cross for me, it wasn’t enough and I had to do my share. This is such a lie of the enemy. When Jesus said from the cross “It is Finished!” He meant it. There was nothing else to be done.

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30 NKJV)

There is a teaching prevalent in many churches that if you keep sinning and asking God for forgiveness in the same area that actually you can’t be meaning it because you wouldn’t keep doing it. This is not the truth. God loves you. Keep bringing your issues to God and He will deal with them in His time and in His way. Your journey is unique. You are unique.

If you are a person who is looking for someone to fulfil your needs I can tell you from experience that you will not find it. You may be expecting your friends or your spouse or family or your brothers and sisters in Christ to do it. You will be disappointed. There is only one who can fill this gap and He is your Heavenly Father.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.“ (Psalm 23:1 NKJV)

If you are yearning, longing, wanting, hankering, desiring, pining, aching, languishing, hungry, craving, thirsty, hoping for love, cover, defence, refuge, immunity, sanctuary, safeguard, assurance preservation etc. then I urge you to seek Him and ask Him to show you how much He loves you. Seek Him in His word. Perhaps start in Psalms and ask Holy Spirit to make reveal what your Heavenly Father says about you.

I want you to declare this over your life each day:

“There is nothing I can do today that will make God love me more. His love for me is always complete! He loves me 100% all of the time!!”

This is a great verse,

“I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14 NKJV)

So to conclude. Whatever you are longing for, whether it be fame, fortune, success, friends, fulfilment etc go to God first and then everything will fall into place and He will be the person who fills the longing.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt 6:33 NKJV)