The more a soul loves,
the more it longs,
the more it hopes,
the more it finds.
–Jean Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)
Eureka is an interjection celebrating discovery. It is a transliteration of an exclamation meaning “I have found (it)” attributed to Ancient Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes. I remember learning the word in connection with reading about the California Gold Rush.
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. This particular shout of “Eureka!” brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.
A shout of “Eureka” only happens in a moment of incredible discovery resulting in joy and satisfaction. Sincerely desiring to experience it, I became a student learning how to find! This quote suggests that the choice of loving leads the soul on a meandering path to surprising outcomes of longing, hoping, and eventually finding.
The more a soul loves…
I will run the way of Your commandments when You open up my heart. Psalm 119:32 (Berkeley translation). Jesus identified the path with His praise of the woman who washed His feet with her tears by saying, “She loved much.” The path opens up when I continually choose to love much even in the face of adversity and hurt.
The more it longs…
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:2 (ESV). By indulging my longing to know God along my path to finding, the earnest heartfelt thirst in my soul is quenched.
The more it hopes…
But I will hope continually and will praise You yet more and more. Psalm 71:14 (ESV)
With less and less hope on earth, there is more and more hope in heaven. As I reduce my anxieties over my expectations by speaking about them to God, my faith is renewed and solidified.
The more it finds…
… and the one who seeks finds… Matthew 7:8 (ESV) Eureka! By faithfully following the path set before me, my shout happens in a moment of incredible discovery resulting in immense joy and satisfaction. I have found it! Praise God!