Dear Father, The Scriptures recount how, “When Jacob saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And Israel said, ‘It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die.’” What amazes me is the deliberate shift of names between Jacob and Israel. Jacob is used when he is overwhelmed, faint, and struggling to believe, while Israel is used when his faith is restored. This illustration reveals the state of a man’s heart when he is robbed of his desires and wallows in bitterness. Living, for him, is almost as good as being dead. There is often a relationship between the rightful satisfaction of desire and a renewed reason to live. While pondering on what deprivation does to the heart of man, and the lives of those whose being is reduced to mere existence, I came across the Psalmist’s words about You: “Who satisfies our desires with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Though the depth of the Psalmist’s metaphor of youth and eagles cannot be fully captured in one letter, I wish to focus on what the Scripture reveals You do. You alone can satisfy my desires and give me a valid reason to live. #LettertoGod