Joy of Every Longing Heart
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end (Isaiah 9:6-7a)
The Longing Heart
I didn’t truly grasp the depth of "longing" until the last two years. While I've longed for things before, those desires were momentary, fulfilled within minutes, hours, or even days. The longing I've experienced in the past two years hasn't been quickly or satisfactorily fulfilled. Two years ago, my physical health declined, and I felt a body that was supposed to be strong (in my early 30s) become weak, immobile, and wasting away. Each morning, as I woke, I longed for strength, mobility, and vitality, akin to a deer panting for water after a long run or a flower yearning for the warmth of springtime sun to melt away the winter's frost. But day after day, it never came, my heart's cry oscillating between deeper, louder, and fainter, colder, weaker as I lived in the constant waves of the present reality and what I longed for.
Maybe this is your experience too? The story above is vivid because I aim to bring to mind and awaken in your heart moments when you've felt longing. And if you’re anything like me, it doesn’t take much to identify what we long for. Longing is a universal human experience.
The Satisfier of Every Longing Heart
Biblically speaking, longing communicates a human response for someone or something not currently possessed, even when far off. In the Bible, longing isn’t just a feeling but a fully encompassing human response, engaging the mind, heart, and hands. Examples abound, such as Jacob longing for his father’s house (Gen. 31:30), David yearning for a drink from the well (1 Sam. 23:15), and the people of God longing to return home (Jer. 22:27). If longing is a universal human experience, then certainly, we can find that God has an answer and a way to satisfy our longings.
Considering what a verse like Isaiah 9:6-7 communicates, we can’t help but ponder the type of longing experienced by the people of God when the prophet spoke these words. What sort of longings did they harbor at that moment? The people sought burdens to be lifted, weaknesses to cease, health to be restored, a good king to lead them, and care for the orphan, widow, foreigner, and anyone outcast; they desired wise counsel and peace in life, not just individually but collectively.
Through the prophet, God gives the most surprising answer to their longings. In the modern human economy, we might consider that things can fix our longings. However, the answer to our longings in God’s economy isn’t just a thing or things but a person. The people are offered a person, and that person comes to them, to us, in a state of weakness, vulnerability, and need—a baby. In Isaiah's day, the people longed for a good king; God’s response to them is more than a good king, it’s a perfect king. A king that carried with him the very hope of reconciliation, redemption, and consummation. But why a baby?
The emphasis of these verses doesn’t rest on the giving to the people or even on what the child will do once grown. The focal point is on the birth of the child. Everything that follows is a certain result of the reality of his birth, of his coming. Therefore, Isaiah states that this child by simply being born will certainly bear the burdens of the people. As we contemplate the burden-bearing nature of this child, we can’t help but think of the burden-bearing offer of Jesus (Matt. 11:28-30).
In this passage, Immanuel bears four names, two describing who he is as a king and the second two describing the conditions he brings. The first two names relate to his name Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). This signifies that he contains in himself the wisdom of God (Wonderful Counselor) and the protection of God (Mighty God). These are two things (wisdom and protection) we all desperately need but often seek in all the wrong places. Out of these first two names, Immanuel brings with him two more names. Where the orphan, fatherless, and those without a family long to have one, Immanuel brings with him a connection to the family of God that is everlasting (“Everlasting Father”), meaning once you are in Jesus’ family, you will never be without a father or family again. Then finally where they longed for war, strife, enmity, and struggle to end, at the birth of Immanuel, the certainty of life fulfilled, relationships reconciled, freedom from anxiety and shalom (wholeness) restored — He is our Prince of Peace.
All of this offered to them, to us, not in things, but in Him, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us!
What Are Our Hearts Longing For?
The Christmas Hymn “Come thou Long Expected Jesus” says:
"Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart."
The hymn writer beautifully pens what all of us need: our longings are not for the thing we desire but the person behind the thing—Jesus. As we reflect on our current longings, whether big or small, let’s collectively ask and answer this question: What are the longings I have, and how can they find their rest in Jesus?
If we compile a list miles long of our longings, I dare us to believe that, by His grace, Jesus can actually and fully satisfy every longing—both now and in the future. Beholding the beauty of who He is now and anticipating what it will be like to be with Him in the future wells up hope for the secure future He offers and brings unexplainable joy to our hearts as we await His second Advent.
