THE BEAUTY FOUND IN LONGING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Do you have someone that you miss seeing?

I know I do.

For as you go through life, the Lord brings you into special relationships, relationships that create special memories and love within us. We cherish those memories and those we made them with but unfortunately, people don’t always stay put, do they? In many ways, we are nomadic and it takes a while for us to finally settle in. When we do, we often find ourselves distanced from those we care deeply for.

For example, my sister and her husband live in England, an ocean apart from me. It has been many, many years (too many actually) since we’ve seen one another to spend time together in person. This has left a beautiful longing in my heart to see them, a beautiful longing grounded in love.

To quench that longing, I am traveling to the United Kingdom in September and couldn’t be more excited about the trip. That excitement has been matched on the “other side of the pond” as my sister has been answering all my questions and providing travel tips in advance before I arrive. Although we are both rather up in years now, there’s giddiness in the air that would rival when we were growing up together as children.

As we turn to our scripture passage today, we find the Apostle Paul opening up his heart to write of his love for the Thessalonian church and the believers there. Through his words, we see the beauty found in longing.

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

Note here the imagery that Paul uses in comparing himself and the other missionaries as being “orphaned” from their brother and sister Christians in Thessalonica. Like a child who has been separated from their parents physically but always having them in thought, such was the way that Paul and the others felt by wanting to see the Thessalonians but unable to, despite making every effort.

So what hindered them from satisfying their longing?

Paul tells us that it was Satan that blocked their way. Other translations use the words “prevented”, “stopped”, or “hindered” in place of “blocked”. Nonetheless, we learn here that Satan can get in the way of the fulfillment of our longings, something we should remember. Our enemy is never working things out for our good like God is (Romans 8:24) and so it would make full sense that he would keep us from those we love and cherish.

As we see in these closing verses of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 2, Paul and his fellow Gospel workers greatly valued their brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. The Apostle tells them in his letter that they are his hope, joy, and the crown he will glory in when Jesus returns.

Think about someone who brings you joy, someone you find hope in and you will have found someone you should have a beautiful longing for.

Maybe Satan has tried to block you from fulfilling your longing in the past whether through a worldwide pandemic or some other means but remember that our Lord is exceedingly greater than our enemy, who will never be victorious in any action that God wished to initiate. Continue to pray, knowing that the Lord can make anything happen that is in accordance with His will and hold onto your beautiful longing with hope. 

I pray that you will get to fulfill it as I will when I travel to England in September.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com