My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
Isaiah 26:9 NIV
Yearns
A national opinion poll conducted on the Angus Reid forum in 2016 revealed that when it comes to sleep, Canadians overwhelmingly feel they are falling short, with close to 70 per cent yearning for better quality sleep most nights. According to the survey, 40 per cent of Canadians report feeling grouchy and irritable when they do not get enough sleep. Furthermore, 49% of Canadians admit lack of sleep affects productivity at work, and six in ten would take a nap to refresh during the day if they could.
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It’s New Year’s Eve! 2022 is in the rearview mirror and we are looking forward into a new year with all the blessings and challenges that it will no doubt bring. Perhaps more than at any other time of the year, we start to dream about what lies ahead. When I was a boy my parents gave me a little plaque that contained the John Milton poem, “Somewhere out on the stormy sea, my ship comes sailing home to me. She’ll come in proudly, white sails agleam, with rich rewards for every dream.” I remember as a boy looking at that plaque regularly and wondering what lay ahead, yearning for all that lay ahead. That yearning is birthed into us, but not simply for the dreams of this world. Isaiah 26:9 says “My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.” Follower of Jesus, as we enter into this new year, pray that the Lord of our souls would birth in us a yearning for Him, a spirit that longs for Jesus.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley