Have you ever had a longing, a deep desire, or a life goal or ambition? Do you look ahead to fulfilment, dare to dream that the possibility may come true?
Or have such dreams long since been lost, derailed or curtailed?
Or are you simply too comfortable? Perhaps life is such that you don't need to dream or long for things to be better?
Maslow was a psychologist who studied the well-off in the late 40s, and produced what is well known as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The simple premiss is that once basic needs are met, then we worry about other things, up the scale until the point when we can be confident, creative, spontaneous etc. Interesting is how this relates to faith: certainly many who are comfortable seem to have little room for God, and those in clear need often have a greater spiritual awareness. Perhaps we need to pray for spiritual hunger, an awareness of our real needs.
Elisha stayed at the house of a well-to-do woman, one who felt she had little or no needs. She had been generous to Elisha, and couldn't name what Elisha might offer in return. Yet this was a denial of a natural and reasonable longing for a son. It is not necessarily clear where such a legitimate need fits in Maslow's system!
Elisha has a prediction of pregnancy and childbirth, which the woman puts down. She has had her own let-downs too many times over the years, so does not want to risk any more. Yet of course Elisha was right, and God blesses her with a son.
God is in control, He is master over creation and thus our bodies and fertility. He wants the best for us - can we trust Him for those big life needs that run through our lives? It may take time, there may be waiting, but as per our key question this week:
[UP] Do we dare to believe the best is possible?
Of course some people do seem to experience a lifetime of difficulty - so let us be careful to not make wild promises. Yet at the same time let us be honest with our longings and desires, look to God, and dare to trust and believe.
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