I am basically content at the nursing home where I now live. The staff know me and are nice to me, and even the other residents are finally warming up to me. They have good food and fun activities. Nonetheless, the highlight of my day is when my wife shows up. In fact, other residents are reporting that I tell them I am looking forward to seeing my sweetheart!

In fact, never in the history of nursing homes has any visitor ever been as warmly greeted as my wife! Even the staff stop and watch! All too soon, however, she always has to leave. This always makes me so sad. Why can’t she stay longer? Why can’t she stay … All day? Hey, why can’t I just go home with her???

Sometimes when she sees I’m sad, she will try to reassure me: “I’ll come again tomorrow!” This answer usually appeases me, and I respond with, “Yes, please do!” or “What time?”. Sometimes, however, tomorrow seems like an eternity away. Because my speech isn’t clear and my words come out primarily in the language of “jargon”, my wife doesn’t usually understand much of what I say to her. One time, however, I made myself abundantly clear. When she announced she was leaving for the day, I responded with, “Ahhhh! Why do you have to leave so soon? You only just got here! I have more things I want to tell you!” Unfortunately for me, I didn’t succeed in convicting her of stay…

As I think about this, I believe that perhaps for the first time in my life, I understand how God must feel!

Jesus hints at how much God longs to spend time with us in John 17:24: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (NIV).

Another picture of this comes from Isaiah 65:1b-2: “To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations” (NIV).

In fact, God longs so much to be with His people that under the Old Covenant, He said, “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8 NIV), and now, in the New Covenant, Jesus said, “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’” (John 14:23 NIV).

In fact, He wants to be with us so much, that He gives His Spirit to us: “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”(Galatians 4:6 NIV)!

And we come to Him. Or at least, some of us do. But do we stay long? Do we truly sit down with God and listen to what He has to tell us?

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (33:3 NIV). As I think of this verse, I see that the only thing stopping God from answering us, from telling us great and unsearchable things, is that we need to call on HIM! Yet we don’t. Oh, we come to Him with our list of requests, but do we truly just sit down and … listen?

Meanwhile, God says, “Why do you have to leave so soon? You only just got here! I have more things I want to tell you!”

I did not use this illustration to condemn my wife for not spending more time with me. I know she has to drive 30-35 km (20 miles) one way to see me, I know it takes a lot of her time, and since she has to take care of everything at home, there isn’t much time left over! Yet that longing I have in my heart for fellowship with her isn’t appeased by her short visits. And as intense as it is, it is so minimal as compared to God’s longing to spend quality time with us!

I challenge you today to make your relationship with God a higher priority. Try spending quality time with Him. Spend as much time listening, being still to know that He is God (See Ps. 46:10), as you do asking and interceding. Not only will you be making God happy, but you’ll discover a new peace will come over you, a peace that passes all understanding!

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Founder, Answers2Prayer Ministries