Timothy Willard - Longing for More: Daily Reflections on Finding God in the Rhythms of Life

2014 by Flickermail, LLC

Published by Bethany House Publishers

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-6491-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007

Scripture quotations identified NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations identified T HE M ESSAGE are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified NET are from the NET BIBLE, copyright 2003 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations identified NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover design by Brand Navigation

Author is represented by Christopher Ferebee

There are sacred moments when life catches you up in its beautiful mystery. Suddenly everything feels heavy and connected. You want to weep and cheer at the same time. You come away empowered, fully alive. Timothy sets you down in these moments. Get caught up in them and watch yourself come to life.

Lacey Sturm, platinum-selling musician and author of The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living

Timothy Willard is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. His poetic words and soul-reaching insights leave me longing for more: more beauty, more depth, more Jesus , which is exactly what this book offers. If youre aching to see the face of God, if youre asking to be brought into deeper relationship, if youre longing for more, let Tims words help usher you in.

Sarah Mae, coauthor of Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe

One of the great needs I see for leaders is continued spiritual growththe kind that goes deep and fosters intimacy with God. In Longing for More , the reader finds spiritual respite and guidance in insights that point directly to God.

Brad Lomenick, former director of Catalyst and author of The Catalyst Leader: 8 Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker

Timothy Willard has a chance to be the Oswald Chambers to a new generation. He has a gift to release the power of devotion that shakes our complacency, exposes our self-righteousness, and triggers a fresh appetite for the heart of God.

Dr. Stephen R. Graves, organizational strategist, theologian, and author of From Concept to Scale: Creating a Gospel-Minded Organization

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , C. S. Lewis describes water so sweet and the Lamb on the shore. In Longing for More , Timothy Willard, a spiritual writer gifted beyond his peers and wise beyond his years, has drawn sweet draughts to quench our thirst and held up visions of the Lamb to inspire our pilgrimage.

Simon Ponsonby, teaching pastor at St. Aldates Church and author of More: How You Can Have More of the Spirit When You Already Have Everything in Christ

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, Paul wrote in Colossians. In Longing for More , Tim Willard masterfully weaves the heavenly and scriptural perspective of things above with authentic and relatable stories of life here below. One cant help but recalibrate the inner spirit man onto an upward facing trajectory. Thoughtful, encouraging, and insightful, this book is more than just good reading, its a daily challenge for greater living.

Logan Wolfram, executive director of Allume and author of LoganWolfram.com

For Whitie,
my father and friend.
Your silent pursuit of Christ hastened mine.

You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat.
So I did sit and eat.

George Herbert

Contents

The Long Pause
WEEK 12 I Want to Be Human

The Long Pause
WEEK 24 God of the Ridiculous

The Long Pause
WEEK 36 Christ, Our Delight

The Long Pause
WEEK 48 The Color Green

God Rhythms

I wrote this book over the course of two years. It began in the form of private emails to the fellows of Praxis, an entrepreneurial incubator program for founders of social justice organizations. In my service to the fellows, I wrote weekly devotional emails crafted to inspire, challenge, and engender transparency among those in the program. I wanted the writing to reflect the rhythms of daily life but also point to the heavens, to God.

I enjoyed exploring these God rhythms so much that I continued to send the emails even after the fellows completed the program; the little pieces enhanced my own times of quiet study and prayer with the Lord Jesus as well. And so, nearly two years later, I am not finishing per se, but bottling them all up for you, expanding some and shortening others.

Why God rhythms? Because life is anything but formulaic. Though I try to implement systems to help organize my time and relationships, these life buckets tend to mix and gel, clash and explode. I experience life like you do, in the whirlwind of realitys rhythms.

But I do not despair in the whirlwind. Instead, I look to its creator, the author of life, the poet of the universe who holds the ebbing and flowing of life like a valley holds its rivers and streams and trees: in the beautiful cadence of balance. The storms interrupt, the rains nourish, the sunlight quickens, the fires purge, and the seasons create a cycle of anticipation. We are always looking to the daffodils, to the picnics, to the harvest parties, to the Christmas trees.

Though we each pass through the same stages of life, our experiences are quite different and yet mysteriously the same. My sisters finished college in four years, but it took me fourteen years, after taking nearly a decade off to pursue music in a band. Our life rhythms, though intermingled, beamed a unique beautysame, yet different.

How does God weave himself into your life? Does he offer you a list of guidelines to help you from Point A to Point B? Or does he tangle himself into you with a cadence unique to you and specific to him? Everyone who has lived knows life is more like a tangle of rhythmsfugue-likepainful at times, painfully wonderful at others.

Seeking Cadence

The format of this book reflects my own interaction with the Scriptures: focusing on a passage, singling out a verse, reflecting on what the Word is saying and how I can apply it to my life. But do not look for little application points. At times the reflection will not button up nicely, which is quite fine with me. The spiritual life does not turn on and off each day. Rather, it ebbs and flows in a rhythmic dance. Some days I wake up angry for no reasonI need Christ, and quickly! But I do not always find answers. I do, however, find comfort. Sometimes I even pray the same prayer each day: Lord Jesus, give me strength for this day! Repetition and rhythmthis is our collective everyday.