Spiritual formation /psychology

Instructions Read Hebrews 11:13-16. read“Awakening to Longing Reflect on the following prompts and respond What is one of the deepest longings of your heart? How have you helped others to fulfill the longings of their hearts? How can you provide hope to those experiencing deep longing? AWAKENING TO LONGING TRANSCRIPT Perhaps one of the greatest longings of our hearts is that for a home, a true home, a home filled with peace and a secure sense of belonging. Although the cry of our hearts for home is often silenced by the noise and busyness of our daily lives, in the quiet moments of the night, this cry can be heard all too well. The Holy Spirit finally has our attention. He whispers, “You are a foreigner and a stranger on earth. You are looking for a home and for a country of your own. But it is not here.” We may search for places and things to quench our longing for home. But as C.S. Lewis reminds us, “These things are good images of what we really desire. But if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.” Take heart in the quiet of moments of the night, for our hope for home is secure and the promise of our true country is already fulfilled and both await our homecoming even now. [onscreen] “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth… Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” –Hebrews 11:13-16 (NIV)