Psalm 63:1 says,"O God, you are my God. I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you: my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land."

In this world of turmoil that we live in today, we are searching for answers to our questions and solutions for our problems. We go from doctor to counselor to seminar to friends in search of answers. In the first 6 words of this psalm, lies the answer to all our problems. O God, you are my God. God created each one of us and made us unique in our own way. He loves us and wants us to love Him. All God did was to open His mouth and speak this whole world into existence. He knew about us before our parents ever thought of conceiving us. He created the universe and all its stars and planets. The earth at one point, was a beautiful garden with all that was needed to sustain life forever. I sometimes sit and think about what it must have been like to live in the Garden of Eden. Then I look around me and see the mess that we have made of God's beautiful creation. All the sin and corruption that is in our world today. All the wars and people dying for what, world peace. I don't think so.

Life is a gift from God, and we treat it with such disrespect. Life is of God and from God. This is something that no one on this entire earth can give us. Yes, babies are born everyday, but it is from God, not man. Knowing this makes me know that there is one who is in complete control of our destiny. At the blink of an eye, He could end this world as we know it and banish all that is on this planet and we would never be seen or heard from again. He did destroy the earth with a mighty flood many, many years ago, but He sent a rainbow as a sign that He would never do that again.

God loves us so much that He wants all of us to be with Him forever and eternity. There is just one thing, God cannot look on sin and all of us are sinners. That isn't a problem because He sent His only son, Jesus, to this earth to live among men and then to give His life for our sins. Since I am a parent, I have thought long and hard about this. I have one son, my only child. I can't seem to see myself giving him for other people's lives, yet God did this for us without hesitation. To make it even better, Jesus died for us without any hesitation.

If that isn't love, then I have never experienced love before in my entire life. All God asks of us is that we confess our sins to Him and believe that Jesus is His son and that He gave His life for us and was raised the third day. We simply must ask Jesus to come into our hearts and we will be saved. The 27th of April 2008, I will have been a Christian for 50 years. That's longer than I was a sinner. This is a milestone in my life. In some ways I am very proud of this, but in other ways it makes me ashamed that I haven't done more for Him. We live our lives daily without thought for what tomorrow might bring, or if we will even be here tomorrow.

As I read this verse of scripture, I can't help but want to get a glimpse of Heaven. I think of all that God has given me and the many times He has protected me from danger and even death. Then I look at what I have given Him. I have given Him just meager bits and pieces of my life. This world we live in is a very parched and dry land. We live day in and day out in our own little world with little care of the people around us and what is going on in their lives and wonder why we don't seem to be happy. We feel that the only way we can be happy is if we have enough money, the best cars, the most prestige and the biggest, finest home. Most people in this world that have all this are very miserable and unhappy. Why? You ask. I know why. It is because they don't have the peace in their heart that comes from knowing Jesus. You see, all the pills, therapy and counseling in the world can't make us happy until we have Jesus in our hearts. Then we won't need all these other things to make us happy. God's love is a perfect love and we don't need anything else in our lives to make us happy.

I remember my conversion 50 years ago, just like it was yesterday. I was 7 years old and I was taken to church every Sunday by my parents. I thank God for my parents. I remember hearing my pastor speak about being saved and becoming a Christian. I really did not understand what he was talking about. One Sunday morning when my mother was getting ready for church, I came into where she was and asked her what our pastor was talking about. I explained to her that I had been having this feeling in my heart when our pastor would give the invitation. She explained the Plan of Salvation to me and answered all my questions. On Sunday night April 27th 1958, I asked Jesus into my heart and my life has not been the same since. This is where my happiness comes from, not all that I have or will ever accomplish in my lifetime. This year April 27th falls on a Sunday. This will be a glorious day in my life to celebrate 50 years of being a Christian.

As I ponder this verse of scripture more, I realize that with all I have and all I will ever have, that being with God in Heaven will bring me the ultimate joy in my life. In Revelations, it talks about the second coming of Christ. It tells that He will come on a white horse and all His angels and that He will fight the final battle. All He will have to do to defeat the evils of this world is to open His mouth and speak and all the evil of this world will be destroyed and spend eternity in hell.

Yes, I long for God. I long for God to come and take complete control of my life. Only then will I have total happiness and peace in my life, not through a pill or a counseling session or anything else in this life that I may seek for happiness. God is the maker and provider of happiness in our lives and it is only through Him that we can have peace and happiness. I long for the day when I look up in the sky and hear the trumpet blast and see Jesus on his white horse with all the hosts of angels coming as they split the eastern sky to come and take us home to be with Him. Until that day, I know that we must all spend each waking hour of our lives living and working for God's Kingdom work. Our task, as it so plainly states in Matthew 28:19-20, that we must go and tell the world about the saving grace of Jesus Christ and teach them about the laws and commandments of the scripture.

Yes, I long for my God, but I long to be the servant that He wants me to be and to be totally and completely committed to His calling for my life. I know that sometimes this is hard and I know that sometimes bad things happen along the way, but these are for a purpose, that being, that He is helping us to trust Him more and to grow more spiritual in His love. As long as things don't go my way, I know that I am still a work in His making and that one day I won't have to long to see Him. I will be right there in His Holy presence and oh what a day that will be.