双语灵修（葛培理牧师）：2月22日 渴想上帝

2月22日

渴想上帝

“我羡慕渴想耶和华的院宇；我的心肠，我的肉体向永生上帝呼吁。”

诗篇84:2

渴想一个人意味着什么？意味着你很想见到一个人，听到他/她的声音，跟他/她在一起。

通常，当你深爱一个人时，你醒着的每时每刻，那个人都会出现在你的脑海里。

​再打一个比方。你有没有在水下长时间潜泳的经历？在水下时间越长，你就越是渴望回到水面，呼吸空气。这种渴望一旦到了极点，你就立刻冲出水面。那时候，你唯一渴望的，就是新鲜空气。

这就是“渴慕上帝”的意思。如同我们对食物和水的需求，我们也是这般饥渴慕义。

可惜，我们有多少人只满足于把自己的一小段时间让给上帝？例如饭前匆匆的祷告，主日的一点点奉献。其余时间根本想不起上帝来。

上帝希望我们渴想祂，因为正是在这样的渴想中，我们的生命才会被上帝和他的爱子耶稣基督所充满。只有当上帝与我们同在的时候，我们才能得到最大的满足。

今日祷告：

天父，我们渴想你，我们渴望在你的同在之中。这是我们的盼望。我们知道，有一天，我们会亲眼看见你。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。

February 22

LONGING FOR GOD

My soul longs,yea,faints for the courts of the Lord;my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.Psalm 84:2 RSV

What does it mean to“long”for someone?It means that a person is unsatisfied or unfulfilled because there is someone he or she very much wants to be near,to hear that certain voice,to experience that special presence.

Usually,particularly when the object is someone very much loved by the person who is longing for another,there is hardly a waking moment when that person is not on the mind of the one who is“longing for.”

Have you ever been underwater for a period of time that is longer than you had expected?You know,as the time ticks away,how desperate you become to reach the surface and breathe the air.The greater the time you are underwater,the more you long for a breath of air until that desire overwhelms you,and you rush to get to the surface as rapidly as possible.You have no other thoughts but quenching your need for air.

That is what it means to“long for God.”In another context,it is what it means to“hunger and thirst”after righteousness with the same desires that lead us to quench our physical need for food and water.

How many of us are content to give God only a brief moment of our time,a hasty prayer before a meal,a few coins in the offering plate on Sunday,and forget about Him the rest of the time?

God wants us to long for Him because it is in that longing that we are fulfilled and overwhelmed by God and the reflection of His Son,the Lord Jesus Christ,in our lives.

We are never more fulfilled than when our longing for God is met by His presence in our lives.

Pray for the Day:

Father,our desire is for You.Our desire is to be in Your presence.We long for You,and we know that we will see You someday;in Jesus’Name,Amen.