From Calming the Restless Spirit: A Journey Toward God by Ben Campbell Johnson
I have encouraged you to wonder about your life -- your longings, your questions, your unexplained experiences. In all this wondering you have probably begun to consider the presence of God, a God whom you have experienced from time to time without naming it.
And now, I invite you to believe that this God who has been "messing around" in your life knows you, loves you, and wants to help you find the meaning of your life. This daring risk of faith may sound strange to you but go ahead and take the leap.
As a beginning point for your quest, adopt the notion of God as a loving companion. Try this affirmation on for size: "There is a God who has been seeking my attention and affection." I want to help you test the truthfulness of this affirmation in our own experience.
I believe God has so made us that we can't find fulfillment in anything other than God. The hunger you feel and the longings you experience may be nothing less than a disguised hunger or longing for God. ... All of us have an inborn desire for God. ...
Just imagine that God . . .
through your hungers has been trying to lead you to a full table,
through your deeper questions has been hinting at the lasting answer,
in your own experience has been appearing in disguise, and
offers to help you find yourself and God.
Every earthly substitute for God suffers the same fate in the end. You and I were made for something more than earth can offer. Use the things God has made, appreciate them. But don't make a god of them. Peace comes to us through finding in God the answers to our deepest questions and the fulfillment of our persistent yearnings. Nothing else can provide the contentment we seek.
This is the kind of article I really enjoy. I hope you do too!
GHT
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