Ryan's Ramblings

When I was a kid, I loved watching American Bandstand—Dick Clark on the mic, live bands on stage, people dancing and clapping along to the music. I ended up being a musician myself, and I’m sure those Saturday mornings had something to do with it—for good or for ill.

My parents came of age during the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Elvis in his prime, so our home was always full of rock ’n’ roll music. When I’d watch old video clips from those days, one thing always intrigued me—honestly, it baffled me. The adoring fans, mostly girls, would get so overcome with excitement and adoration that they’d faint right there in the crowd—collapsing at the sight of their favorite artist. It struck me as strange, fascinating, and even kinda weird. I didn’t understand it back then.

But I think I’m beginning to understand now.

Psalm 84:1–2 says:

“How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

I long, yes, I faint with longing

to enter the courts of the Lord.

With my whole being—body and soul—

I will shout joyfully to the living God.” (NLT)

That word faint suddenly feels different. The psalmist isn’t talking about swooning at a concert. He’s describing a soul so overcome by the beauty and goodness of God that it aches to be near Him.

And it’s not really about a physical place. It’s about the Place—Jesus. The psalmist’s heart isn’t fixed on a temple made of stone but on the One who dwells there. The beauty of the Lord makes him “faint with longing.”

The New Testament gives the “why” behind this longing: it’s because every good thing, every perfect gift, every breath of beauty and grace finds its source in Him (James 1:17).

At the center of every longing, every gift, every joy—stands Jesus.

I’ve tasted a glimpse of that kind of longing myself. When I hold my granddaughter, Annie, and she looks up at me with those bright, searching eyes, gives me that sweet little smile, and wraps her tiny hand around my fingers, I’m undone. My heart overflows with joy and adoration—I can hardly contain it.

That’s faint-with-longing love. And Jesus is the source and center of it all. That kind of longing doesn’t leave us faint on the floor—it gives us strength.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

…

They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.”

(Psalm 84:5, 7 NIV)

Awash in His beauty, our strength grows with each step of faith as we walk with the One our hearts long for.

I used to wake up early on Saturdays for cartoons and Bandstand. Now I wake up every day with a sense of holy expectation—to meet the Lord.

Psalm 84:10 says,

“A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else.” (NLT)

And it’s true. God is so good.

So go ahead—let your heart faint for Him. Lean into that holy adoration. In His presence, longing leads to life, weakness becomes strength, and every beautiful thing—every song, every sunrise, every bit of love you hold and give—finds its beginning and its end in Jesus.