Blessed Are the Longing
by Cait James
I often find gaps in what I long for versus the situations actually dealt to me.
My human heart frequently struggles to see disappointment, pain, or scarcity as blessings given by God for my good and His glory. Psalm 84 has been a balm to my soul during adulthood for every season but even more during the ‘not so blessed’ ones.
The Psalmist longs to be able to go to the temple of the Lord, even acknowledging the sparrows that get to build their nests in the rafters of the temple courts. The passage does not tell us why the Psalmist was unable to make the trip, but it makes one thing clear…where the Psalmist is, is not where he wants to be.
I’ve seen myself here and I wonder if you ever have too. Perhaps, when we experience the death of a loved one, loss of a job, sickness, barrenness, longing, or any other tough thing, I can confidently say that most people would agree that experiencing the hard stuff is not where they prefer to be or what they prefer to be doing.
In today’s culture, to be blessed, we are told to “follow our hearts” and to “do what makes us feel good.” Scripture says the opposite. Jeremiah 17:9 says ‘The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?’ Thankfully, Psalm 84 redefines what it means to be blessed, by giving us three separate descriptions of what a blessed person looks like:
A blessed person is someone who is with God, who seeks God, and who finds strength in walking with God.
Reframing my idea of blessed from ‘being given easy and desirable things’ to ‘I have God’ changes the way that I walk through really hard seasons. When life is a slow grind, outcomes are against me and tears stain my pillow, my soul can rest in the blessedness of being covered, loved, and led by a faithful God.
These articles follow our church-wide reading plan. To read with us, click here.
My human heart frequently struggles to see disappointment, pain, or scarcity as blessings given by God for my good and His glory. Psalm 84 has been a balm to my soul during adulthood for every season but even more during the ‘not so blessed’ ones.
The Psalmist longs to be able to go to the temple of the Lord, even acknowledging the sparrows that get to build their nests in the rafters of the temple courts. The passage does not tell us why the Psalmist was unable to make the trip, but it makes one thing clear…where the Psalmist is, is not where he wants to be.
I’ve seen myself here and I wonder if you ever have too. Perhaps, when we experience the death of a loved one, loss of a job, sickness, barrenness, longing, or any other tough thing, I can confidently say that most people would agree that experiencing the hard stuff is not where they prefer to be or what they prefer to be doing.
In today’s culture, to be blessed, we are told to “follow our hearts” and to “do what makes us feel good.” Scripture says the opposite. Jeremiah 17:9 says ‘The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?’ Thankfully, Psalm 84 redefines what it means to be blessed, by giving us three separate descriptions of what a blessed person looks like:
- Blessed are those who dwell in Your house (v 4)
- Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose heart is on the highways to Zion (v 5)
- Blessed is the one who trusts in You! (v 12)
A blessed person is someone who is with God, who seeks God, and who finds strength in walking with God.
Reframing my idea of blessed from ‘being given easy and desirable things’ to ‘I have God’ changes the way that I walk through really hard seasons. When life is a slow grind, outcomes are against me and tears stain my pillow, my soul can rest in the blessedness of being covered, loved, and led by a faithful God.
These articles follow our church-wide reading plan. To read with us, click here.
More from the blog:
Love Your Neighbor As Yourself
February 23rd, 2026
The Law of Leviticus boils down to this, and Jesus’ explanation and interpretation of the new covenant also has it at its core: Love your neighbor as yourself. This command in the 19th chapter of Leviticus is cited in three of the four Gospels as Jesus reiterates to the Jews the most important commandment - for it sums up the Law. But what I find interesting is that Jesus doesn’t seem to be tellin...
Finding the Right Foundation for Your Life
February 16th, 2026
Foundations are important. My husband and I discovered this first-hand when we were looking for our first house. The real estate agent took us to a “bargain” fixer-upper property with foundation problems. When we stepped into the house, we quickly saw that the foundation problems were indeed serious. Many of the floors were visibly slanted. Some of the doors were difficult to open. And when I plac...
Sojourners in the Flesh
February 9th, 2026
“This world is not my home, I’m just ‘a passing through.” These words open a lesser known hymn of the early 1900’s, and it seems like the sons of Jacob, and Jacob himself, echo this refrain. As the 70 persons of Jacob’s family come into Egypt, they do so as sojourners. When Pharaoh asks them what their job is, they reply, as instructed by Joseph, “Shepherds.” They go on to say, “We’ve come to sojo...
Recent
Archive
2026
2025
February
March
April
September
October
November
2024
March
April
September
October
2023
April
May
July
August
September
No Comments