A short meditation on the soul that faints (by Rachael)

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord.  Psalm 84:2

[I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. – NLT]

faint - adjective

1. lacking clarity, brightness, volume, etc. a faint noise

2. lacking conviction or force; weak faint praise

3. feeling dizzy or weak as if about to lose consciousness

4. without boldness or courage; timid (esp in the combination faint-hearted)

1. Lacking strength or vigor; feeble.

2. Lacking conviction, boldness, or courage; timid.

Faint -verb

1. To fall into a usually brief state of unconsciousness.

2. Archaic To weaken in purpose or spirit.

1. to lose consciousness, esp momentarily, as through weakness

2. Archaic or poetic to fail or become weak, esp in hope or courage

To “long” for something - desire strongly or persistently

This is such an intense way to describe the longing for the courts of the Lord. 

Have you ever longed for something or someone so desperately, so intensely that you fainted? 

It makes me think of the way a soldier’s wife feels, up late watching out the window waiting for the return of her hero and lover.  It makes me think of the way a father feels when he is waiting for his prodigal son to return to him.  It makes me think of the way a mother feels whose child was taken from her arms, how she longs to hold that child again.  It makes me think of the way a groom feels in anticipation of his bride. 

But the beautiful picture about all of these is the face of the woman when her soldier returns from war, the embrace of the prodigal’s father, the way the weeping mother squeezes her child that was found, and the joy and passion of the groom with his bride on their wedding day. 

Hope is new.  Strength is fresh.  Boldness is louder, courage is braver. Clarity is crystal. Conviction is power.  Purpose is embodied.  The soul is complete.

I so desperately want to be with the Lord and to be in His presence that when I am not there I am weak.  I lack clarity, boldness, strength. I am just feeble, pitiful, thirsty and wilted on the ground and can’t find the strength to get up on my own.  When I am not with the Lord, I have no purpose, my hope and my courage is gone. 

My desire to be where he is is so persistent that I do all that I can- I devote my entire being to doing whatever it takes to get me there – and stay there.

Because He is the source of ME.  He is my purpose and direction.  He is my hope. He is my strength.  He is JESUS – the I AM.  My All in All.  My Everything.

In Him we live, move, and have our being.  (Acts 17:28)

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

My soul faints with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. (Psalm 84:2)

My soul will be satisfied. (Psalm 63:5)