When you long for someone.

When you first started dating or when you were first married, you probably remember longing, in near agony, to be with that significant person in your life.  If you have children away at college, you've likely longed, or perhaps begged, for them to come home for a relaxing weekend.   And if you have a loved one or friend overseas in the military, you surely long for him or her to return home safely and quickly.When you long for someone, you desire to be with them.....you think about them all the time....you miss them and you really, really want to be with them.Isaiah 64:4 reads: "For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him."I recently found that the Hebrew word "wait" actually means "to long for".  So, this verse actually reads...."(God) works for those who long for Him."Isn't that beautiful?God works for us - on our behalf - when we long for Him.And why do we long for someone?  Perhaps there are some selfish reasons to long for someone, but the right reason is love - we love them.This same Hebrew word "chakah" is used again in this stunning passage  in Isaiah:  "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" - Isaiah 30:18.So, we are to long for God the same way He longs for us.  And in both cases, He is acting on our behalf.  He "works for us" and "He rises up and shows us compassion".  Isn't this different from the typical view of God that many of us have had sometime in our life....of a mean, angry, score-keeping God.Next time you long to see your great Aunt or you long to see your daughter or you long to see your spouse after an extended trip....remember that God longs for us, to be gracious to us and if we will long for Him, he will then surely act on our behalf.That's the great, mighty, loving and kind God we serve.  From a heart of love, our natural response should be to long for and desire Him above all else and then to say thank you.  May this be your and my prayer today.