Saturday, April 30, 2016

My soul thirsts for You

This Sunday during the Bible class hour at 9:20 am, our adult class will continue taking a look at the film, "War Room."  We will learn some of the elements of developing a strategy of faithfulness in spending time with the Lord.

One important admonition is to eliminate all distractions so that you can focus completely on God. The Psalm reading from the "Treasury of Daily Prayer" was portions of Psalm 63.  This psalm of David begins with these words: "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water...."

We are told that David wrote this psalm "when he was in the wilderness of Judah."

Wilderness wanderings aren't much fun.  In fact, they can be downright devastating. The sense of hopelessness becomes overwhelming.  You can't see a solution to your problem.  You can't find a soul who can offer a pinch of hope.

But David stands that thinking on its head.

When he remembers God, when he meditates on all the ways that the Lord has been with him, helped him and blessed him, David finds a song in his heart.  "I will sing for joy."

In faith, David will do even more: "My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me."

In the wilderness of suffering and confusion, you always have a choice.  You can choose, with the hands of faith, to cling to the Lord.  When you believe that you can't take another step, the Lord will hold you up, give you His strength to keep on going and to keep on trusting.

Psalm 63 does not end with how the Lord led David out of the wilderness.  At this point, David has no idea what God's solution might be.  But David trusts that God has the solution and knows the way. That's is good enough for David.

May it always be enough for you.  Rejoice in God!.