A Broken, Dying World: Why Spiritual Hunger Is Real and How We Can Begin to Meet People Where They Are

Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee
Saint Augustine’s often quoted statement from his Confessions—“Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee”—assumes much about what it is to be human. Let me share four thoughts.
First, if we are made by God, it stands to reason that since He is the source of our very being, we should expect to find something within us that longs to be connected to Him.
God is a God of grace and, properly considered, His grace is irresistible. Furthermore, He extends common grace to all. Every moment we breathe, in a world made by God and sovereignly ruled by God, is an exhibition and demonstration of His grace to each person.
Furthermore, every moment judgment does not fall on a society unresponsive to Him and unsurrendered to Him, or in rebellion against Him, is a demonstration of His grace.
Even when people try to fill the God-shaped vacuum in their souls with artificialities and the things moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, something of the grace of God is in operation. There is grace extended in the moment we come to see these things can never satisfy and the restlessness of our hearts is manifest once again.
God woos us to Himself through our heart’s restlessness. Augustine’s observations continue to have merit. Furthermore, scripture reminds us that it rains on the just and the unjust. God relentlessly continues to lavish creation with His grace and favor, and He is constant in His giving of grace that we might come to Him.
Sure, we can observe wars and rumors of wars and horrible atrocities in our world, but several things must be noted when we see these things. First, while the sorrows of this world are noteworthy, they …Continue reading…