The Soul Yearns

In the Bible we often come across the need to cultivate a heart that God finds pleasing.  “The Lord does not look at the things people look at...  the Lord looks at the heart.”  (1 Samuel 16:7) We read that David was a man after Gods own heart. What does it really mean? What kind of heart does God want? What did God see in David? I took a look at various verses in the Bible that refer to matters of the heart?   1) Remains Loyal or Steadfast: The dictionary says someone who is steadfast is loyal,  shows firm determination or resolution, and is not easily shaken. In Psalms 57: 7, the Psalmist says "My heart is steadfast oh god. My heart is steadfast. I’ll sing and make melody." So you need to be steady in your decision to do what's right, what God wants irrespective of how your situation and circumstances change.  1 Kings‬ ‭11:4‬ ‭ESV‬‬ “For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true t...

The deepest hunger within me is the need to know my true purpose in life. It keeps gnawing at me. Just any purpose won't do. Short term purposes don't satisfy. Even long terms purposes that seem difficult to achieve doesn't keep you going in the midst of seemingly insurmountable challenges. But those who do are those who are consumed by this passion. And that passion can only be evoked if you have a singular purpose in life. Now let's take thirst. It's said we thirst for knowledge. No matter how much we read or study it's an unending thirst. The deeper questions that we don't have answers to can keep us awake at night, can unsettle us, and keeps us craving for more. I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. - John 6:37 To me this verse indicates that if you can understand the mystery of Jesus then both this hunger and thirst can be fulfilled or rather it will propel you in the right dire...

Just last evening I was talking to some friends about how I never seem to feel any of the emotions they were talking about. Be it for God or for man. Love. Passion. Overflowing joy. What do all these things feel like? What do they even mean? Then this morning, coincidentally, I happened to come across an article on passion and how people sacrificed their lives for the cause of their passion. I can never imagine doing that.  But do I want to feel this love, this passion, this craziness? Yes, very much.  But what is the process?  One thing I have realized is that it is our own experiences that have hardened our hearts, killed our passions, and made us immune to joys. How can I say this with conviction? Well, all I had to do was go back in time and think about my childhood days or even me teenage years.  Those were days when you readily believed anything that people around you told you. Your trusted people around you without a second thoug...

We are all searching for a purpose that can adding meaning to our existence. Whatever purpose we may find here on earth, no matter how lofty, has its limitations. It's not a purpose for which we are ready to give up our life. You might want to put an end to trafficking or build a multi-billion dollar business or discover the next life-saving drug. But giving your life for any of these causes doesn't make sense because with the end of your life your purpose also comes to an end. Our soul searches for something deeper, something more meaningful, something which adds meaning to our existence on earth, something which makes us feel the short-term purpose we have identified here fits into a larger picture or a wider vision and will continue to go on much after we are gone. This is where the God factor comes in. In the biblical book of John 10:10, Jesus said, he came so that we might experience life, and life in all its fullness. I was wondering what this could mean. My unde...

Psalms 139: 23-24 Look deep into my heart, God,  and find out everything  I am thinking.  Don't let me follow evil ways,  but lead me in the way  that time has proven true. Is it ever possible for a man to know himself fully?  I doubt it. We all think we know ourselves the best. But do we really? Many a time when I introspect I am often surprised at my own actions and reactions. Personally, I don't even know how I would react in a particular situation. Yes, I might think that if I am in such and such a situation this is what I would do. But depending on the extremity of the situation I might find myself reacting or behaving in an entirely different manner.  Recently, someone told me, there are four "yous". The first "you" is the you that you know about yourself and others know as well. Then there is the hidden "you" that you know but others don't. Similarly, there is the "you" that others know about you but you yours...

I just read somewhere that as per scientific estimation, there are over a 100 billion galaxies with billions of stars and planets in each. Till date, we have not discovered life on any of these planets. Either our technology hasn't evolved to a stage where we can see other life forms or there aren't any. Now this reminded me of the verse in Genesis 1 where even Earth was in a similar state. Other than that one couple and some animals, this beautiful planet didn't have any beings that the creator could commune with. He asks Adam and Eve to breed and populate the earth. And since then we have been doing that. Now is it possible that he probably wants his creation to populate the other planets as well? As humans, we are already doing our best to understand the environment and topography of other planets. Maybe some day we will advance enough to conquer and tame these planets. Another possibility is that once we die and leave this earthly body behind we are, accordin...

Continuing on the thought expressed in my previous blog, the ability to give or create life and everything else makes God supreme when compared to the Devil who doesn’t have this specific gift. So God created man and everything else. More importantly, God created man in his own image and he planned to have regular fellowship with him. This basically meant that man had almost all the powers including the ability to think and create that God had. Of course, he was not as powerful as God. No way. The rebellion of the angels, who were much more powerful than mankind, had probably served as a lesson for God that his own creation can rebel against him, and so he better ensure they are not powerful enough to cause serious damage. Devil, unfortunately for him, can't give life and so he can't create anything. But he also needs people on his side if he wants to ensure that the power gap between him and God doesn’t increase so much that he is no longer in the reckoning itself....