Conversations

I was reading an article about conversations that matter and it referred to the recorded conversations that Jesus had, and what we can learn from them. And all of a sudden it hit me! -the significance of the fact that those conversations were recorded at all! 

If you really wanted to show someone's importance wouldn't you be more likely to record the great speeches they made, or how everyone responded in worship- all the great things everyone said about them? And yet that's not all that is recorded in the Gospels.

In His conversations I think one thing that's clear is: individual people matter! We have all been made in God's image so we have value. Also it is obvious that Jesus cared about individual people. He didn't care about having a great movement or having personal fame for fame's sake- he cared about the lives of individual people.

Now obviously that's not to say that he did not deserve all the worship and praise that he received on Earth since He is God.

But thinking about those conversations existing at all in the gospel narratives caused me to reflect on different things.

Praying the Psalms

 Sometimes reading something in a different translation can impact me in a different way. This can happen to me when I sing the Psalms.

Psalm 119:145-152

"The things you command I will do." Wow! So straightforward and convicting! Often when I read/sing the Psalms I find I need to stop and confess, or commit to doing something I am not doing. God, help me to do the things that you command, or give me the desire to want to do them.

"Before dawn I rise and I cry out for help" How many mornings have I lain in my bed, thinking I should get up so that I would make better use of my time? O Lord, help me to not squander the early morning. Help me to rise and be a good steward of the early morning quiet that is a blessing from You!

"My hope by Your promises stirred" How many times do I place my hope in hearing back from a friend rather than having my hope fully in the Lord and in the promises of His word? Lord, please show me when my hope is in the things of this life rather than in You. Please unite my heart to fear Your name. Help me to place my hope in You and You alone!

"O Lord, in Your love hear my voice when I call" Thank You for Your love for me.

"O Lord You continue to be near to me" Thank You God, that You are always near to me, no matter how I feel. I may stray from You, but You are always with me!.

Teach Us to Pray

 I found great encouragement to pray when we looked at Luke 11 at the women's bible study the other night. (See Luke 11:1-13 below)

The disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray..."

Jesus gives them a model:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

4 and forgive us our sins,

    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

 ...which encourages them to pray.

Then he tells the story of the man asking his friend for bread for his friends in the middle of the night, and his persistence in asking (Luke 11:5-8)...encouraging them to pray.

Then he tells them to ask, seek, and knock. And as if that were not enough he says again,"'For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.'"(verse 10), which encourages them to pray.

Finally, he says:

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

If we too are His disciples, how much more encouragement do we need to pray to our heavenly Father?

Luke 11:1-13  ESV

11 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread,

4 and forgive us our sins,

    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And lead us not into temptation.”

5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Fight Songs

When I am aware that I am fighting a significant battle against sin and idolatry,  I'm very intentional about the music that I listen to. It's not so much choosing to listen to Christian music versus secular, more listening to music that contains the truth that will help me fight the battle that I am facing right now. So I made a very specific playlist, and this is the song I've probably been listening to most lately. I share first the lyrics that are really impacting me. Following are the lyrics in their enirety.
My One Thing

Who have I in Heaven but You Jesus?
And what better could I hope to find down here on earth?


Save me from those things that might distract me
Please take them away and purify my heart
I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing
Cause what will I have when the world is gone
If it isn't for the love that goes on and on...


Every night and every day
You hold on tight
Or you drift away
And you're left to live
With the choices you make


My One Thing by Rich Mullins

Everybody I know says they need just one thing
And what they really mean is that they need just one thing more
And everybody seems to think they've got it coming
Well I know that I don't deserve You
Still I want to love and serve You more and more
You're my one thing
Save me from those things that might distract me
Please take them away and purify my heart
I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing
Cause what will I have when the world is gone
If it isn't for the love that goes on and on with

[Chorus]
My one thing
You're my one thing
And the pure in heart shall see God
You're my one thing
You're my one thing

And the pure in heart shall see God
Who have I in Heaven but You Jesus?
And what better could I hope to find down here on earth?
I could cross the most distant reaches
Of this world, but I'd just be wasting my time
Cause I'm certain already, I'm sure I'd find

[Chorus]

Every night and every day
You hold on tight
Or you drift away
And you're left to live
With the choices you make
Oh Lord please give me the strength
To watch and work and love and sing and pray
Cause who have I in Heaven but You Jesus?
And what better could I hope to find down here on earth?
Well I could cross the most distant reaches
Of this world, but I'd just be wasting my time
Cause I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find

You're my one thing
One thing
You're my one thing
The pure in heart, the pure in heart
One thing
And I know that the pure
That the pure in heart that the pure in heart shall see God
[Repeat]

My One Thing

Hedges

I was reading this recently:
6 Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns,
    and I will build a wall against her,
    so that she cannot find her paths.   Hosea 2:6  (ESV)

I was thinking about the hedge.

A hedge is also mentioned in Job when Satan is talking to God :
10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”    Job 1:10-11 (ESV)

I just found it interesting that in Hosea, the hedge is used to block the path of Israel, but in Job, the hedge is a barrier that has been protecting Job from the attacks of the evil one. Boundaries!

Is the God of the Old Testament Just Angry All the Time?

43 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.    Isaiah 43 (ESV)

You may have noticed that I have been enjoying Isaiah lately. I think one of the reasons is seeing the tender display of God's love for His people. I know that people often think of the God of the Old Testament as a God of wrath and judgment, and the God of the New Testament as a God of love. One of the problems with this are scriptures that state otherwise (see below*). But I do remember the first time I read through the Old Testament. I felt like God was killing people left and right, and it made such an impression on me! But I think I needed to see how serious God was/is about sin. But then the next time I read it, I felt like I saw His love all over the place! Here are some more verses from Isaiah:

6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
    I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
    a light for the nations,"  Isaiah 42 (ESV)


4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
    and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
    peoples in exchange for your life.  Isaiah 43 (ESV)


2 Thus says the Lord who made you,
    who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
    Jeshurun whom I have chosen.  Isaiah 44 (ESV)


*10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will roll them up,
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
    and your years will have no end.”  from Hebrews 1 (ESV)

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Imagine That! Reading a Whole Letter in One Sitting!

I wanted to read through the book of Hebrews this afternoon, but I wasn't sure if my Sunday nap would try and take over! Why did I feel like this was such an accomplishment? Wouldn't the early church read through whole letters all the time in one sitting? Or maybe even standing!

I was thinking about how we have more copies of the word than ever before, but perhaps read it less, comparatively speaking. Or at the least, maybe our easy access makes the word seem less valuable.

Well, here's an excerpt from my reading today (formatting mine):

19 Therefore, brothers, 
   since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the         blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he               opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his           flesh, 21 and 

since we have a great priest over the house of God,

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without                 wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And 

let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but 
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:19-25 English Standard Version (ESV)

Joseph and Lottie

Joseph surprises me sometimes (he's 7). "Mom, what year is Lottie's birthday?

Me: Uhh, 2017 in August, cause that's when the girls and I went to Texas. Do you mean when she would have been born? Because she was due in March. It's kinda weird, cause her birthday  and death day are the same day- at the end of August. Oh, are you wondering because you wanna know when we're gonna have the cake?

Joseph: Yeah!

(He had asked earlier if we could celebrate Lottie's birthday like we celebrate every one else's - with a special dessert. I had asked him what he thought we should have, and he said yellow cake with brown sugar frosting. And guess what? That's his favorite too!😁)

The Lord Is My Shepherd

I was struck by this as I read it this morning:

15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
    the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil..."  [Genesis 48:15-16a English Standard Version (ESV)]

Many of us would say that God is our shepherd. But there is something about Israel, formerly Jacob, saying this, the man who worked 7 years taking care of his father-in-law's flocks for each of his wives. He knew what it meant to be a shepherd.

David also knew what it meant to be a shepherd, and he wrote:

Psalm 23 English Standard Version (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Male and Female

Something I've been thinking about lately...

27 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”   From Genesis 1  ESV

God also made most animals male and female, but he doesn't mention that in the beginning. But He does make a point of stating that man was created male and female, after saying that they were created in God's image.

Shame? or Confidence!

You know, sometimes it's not what the Bible says, but what it does NOT say.

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1 John 2 ESV

Jesus is coming back again. And how can we have confidence and not shrink back in shame when he comes? I would think the answer might be live perfectly, be sinless, or be holy like God. But that's not what the word says. What does it say? The key to having confidence and not shrinking from him in shame at his coming is abiding in him. That's it! Abide in him!


If you are interested in what it means to abide in him, here are some thoughts in answer to that very question:

But back to abiding in him...I think the picture of the vine and the branches helps us to see what this means. The branch cannot bear fruit without being connected to the vine, it can't even live without that connection. So Jesus is the source of our spiritual life. And this means we need to be nourished by him with his word, but also talk to him, cry out to him, and spend time with his people, to be encouraged in the truth and love one another. Abiding in him speaks much more of relationship than just doing all the right things.

The Cost of Freedom

I was reading The Sign of the Beaver with the kids. As the main character was walking through the forest, he came across a fox gnawing off its leg to escape an iron snare. The author commented:

"He was struck by the bravery that could inflict such pain on itself to gain freedom." p. 65

 At first my thoughts went to the brave people of the American Revolution who were willing to die for their freedom. Later I thought of the Pilgrims and others who left known comforts for religious freedom.

But then my thoughts went in a different direction...

As Christians, how much pain are we willing to inflict on ourselves or allow ourselves to experience to gain freedom from our sin?

God Is Light!

"God is light, and in him is no darkness at all"

I've been reflecting on these words from 1 John 1:5. No darkness AT ALL. I thought about how many times I had good intentions of doing the right thing and yet still failed! In me, there is darkness, but in God there is no darkness at all. I have the choice to do evil or not, but God is not even CAPABLE of doing evil! Just this difference alone could explain why we have so much trouble understanding God or his actions sometimes!

Beloved?

Beloved. This word jumped out at me in Ephesians 1:6:

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses...

This is the only place in the whole book of Ephesians where Beloved is used to refer to Jesus. And right after this Paul states that "we have redemption through his blood". I found it interesting that right after Paul calls him Beloved, because he is loved by his Father, he refers to his death, his sacrifice, his suffering for us that God, our Father, sent him to accomplish. God loved/loves Jesus perfectly, but he still sent him to die for us! And Jesus willingly laid down his life for us! Wow!!!

2017 Was an Eventful Year!!!

So much happened in 2017. I am going to share some highlights by month.

MAY
Our good friend Madison Stratton came out to visit us for 11 days! We weren't sure how that would go. I've never had a friend come and stay in my house that long, but we had a great visit! Highlights included, but not limited to:
-Bridge
-Basketball
-Sharing good food and laughs together
-A day trip to Springfield for Cherry Pie Day

JULY
Geoff and I celebrated our anniversary by taking a trip to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore
-We enjoyed the Amtrak ride out there - I especially remember being enchanted by the lights of Pittsburgh in the wee dark early morning (about 4am).
-I had never been in the House or Senate chambers in the Capital building  before. We also had interesting conversations with people while waiting in line.
-Pad Thai with fried soft shell crab (my highlight, not Geoff's)
-Great breakfasts and conversations with people at the B&Bs  where we stayed
-Delicious fried pickles and crab dip on a "P" pretzel at Pickles Pub before the Cubs game
-Friendly Baltimore fans at the game
-THE CUBS WON!!!

God gave us a baby in July and provided people and circumstances to help me be at peace with being pregnant. "The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes."

AUGUST
We lost the baby
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.  Job 1:21


Rebekah, Katherine and I were able to fly to Texas to visit Madison.
Some highlights:
-Rebekah's first flight!
-Galveston
-Experiencing just a little of the effects of Harvey
-BJs Irish root beer and pizookies
-Codenames
-Sandra Bullock movies
-Good food like stuffed avocado and queso with Texas-shaped chips
-Just hanging out and meeting Mabs' friends

OCTOBER
Apple Butter Day is always a highlight of the year. A couple things that made it interesting this year:
1. A tornado warning that brought the celebration inside with the Russells and Devin
2. Musical chairs with live music

NOVEMBER
We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. So thankful for my husband and for my kids who knew that even though we took a trip to celebrate, that we would still appreciate an open house to celebrate with others. I love you all!!! The kids even kicked us out of the house the day of so that we would not have to deal with the pre-party stress. They did a great job!

DECEMBER
I was so thankful to be able to go down to Macomb just to visit Geoff's 99 year old Grandma White and his 101 year old Great Aunt Juanita. We don't know how much longer we will have to be able to visit them. Which brings me to my last thoughts.


REMEMBERING THE DEAD:
This past year we went to Elaine's, Gerald's cousin's wife, funeral in July.

Gerald's brother Stanley died in August and Geoff was able to go to Texas for the funeral with his Dad and Aunt Christine.

Geoff and I were able to go to Ohio in December with Mary Jane and Gerald when her brother Bill died. It was sad, but a great time with family.


We don't really have any exiting plans for 2018, but I look forward to what God has in store for us! He is faithful!

(And BTW, this was a super long post! If you made it to the end, you deserve a gold star!)

Can We Hide from God?

This is a summary of what I shared with my high school bible class today, after we read through Psalm 139 and looked at what it said about God. If you have time, stop and read it yourself (below) and mentally list or write out what this Psalm says about God before you read the rest!

So we started out talking about how God is our Creator (Acts 17, Genesis 1). And then talked about sin and how it entered the world (Genesis 3, Romans 3). Why look at Psalm 139? How does that fit?

Well, we see in Psalm 139 that God is everywhere, from the heavens to Sheol (v. 8), from east to west (v. 9), inside our bodies (v. 13), and even in our heads! (v. 2). We cannot hide in the darkness (v.12), there is no secret place where he cannot go (v. 15), and he even knows our words before we say them (and knows more about why we said them than we do! - v. 4). He knows everything about what we think, say, and do!

This is both a comfort and a terrifying thought. Comforting when we need his help and terrifying when we have done wrong; sinned; broken one of his commands. What is a typical response we can have to our sin? Have you ever done something wrong and then tried to hide it? Or maybe you tried to hide yourself, or run away. That's what Adam and Eve did in the garden. After they broke God's command, here is what happpened:

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

It's interesting because that word for presence is literally "face" - very intimate! And it is the same Hebrew word that David uses in Psalm 139:7:
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?

Once again, presence is literally translated "face". And David recognizes that he can not flee from God's face. I wonder if he was thinking about Adam and Eve when he wrote that line?

So, how did hiding work out for Adam and Eve? It didn't help them one bit! They still had to suffer the consequences of their actions. What about you? Did hiding things from your parents or others ever work out well for you? I know it didn't work well for me!

The truth of God's word says:
Numbers 32:23  "...be sure your sin will find you out."

We cannot hide from God and he knows everything about us, all of our sin, and that is such a good thing! It is his grace and mercy. Because, unless we come to him and admit our sin and ask him to forgive us, we cannot be forgiven. And if we do not admit our sinfulness to him in this life, we will experience his judgment in the next. But God's word promises us that:
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 John 1)

So, if you have a sin that you are hiding from God, now is the time to confess it to him and restore or start a right relationship with him. And all of us sin every day. So we need to be confessing our sins daily and praying this prayer from Psalm 139:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 139 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;     you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down     and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue,     behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before,     and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;     it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?     Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!     If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning     and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me,     and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,     and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you;     the night is bright as the day,     for darkness is as light with you. 13 For you formed my inward parts;     you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a] Wonderful are your works;     my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,     intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,     the days that were formed for me,     when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!     How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.     I awake, and I am still with you. 19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!     O men of blood, depart from me! 20 They speak against you with malicious intent;     your enemies take your name in vain.[b] 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?     And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with complete hatred;     I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!     Try me and know my thoughts![c] 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,     and lead me in the way everlasting!

By Faith

I was so encouraged while singing "By Faith" this morning (lyrics to follow). The first verse states, "By faith we see the hand of God in the light of creation's grand design,". At prayer meeting last week, we read Ps 19, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." (verse 1)

The verse of the song goes on, "in the lives of those who prove His faithfulness, who walk by faith and not by sight." I thought about my friend sitting in front of me. She experienced a house fire and has had issue after issue after issue getting the insurance companies and workers and contractors to just do what they are supposed to do. And through it all, she has continued to trust God and be a witness for Him, along with loving her husband, kids, and parents.

Verse 2 talks about our fathers "roaming the earth, with the power of His promise in their hearts..." They did not rule the earth with power, they roamed the earth, but always had the powerful promises of God Almighty!

I praised God that "the prophets saw a day when the longed-for Messiah would appear, with the power to break the chains of sin and death..."  This was accentuated for me because we have been studying Luke this year and seeing Jesus drive out demons and heal all the sick again and again and again. There was no demon or group of demons too strong to drive out, nor any sickness or condition beyond His power!

And now we, as the church, are "called to go in the power of the Spirit to the lost, to deliver captives and to preach good news in every corner of the earth." Jesus stood up and read this in the synagogue:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Now we too can "proclaim good news to the poor". Because of Christ, captives can be set free, "the power of the gospel shall prevail"!

“By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation’s grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God’s own hand
A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We’ll walk by faith and not by sight ”

— WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH & KRISTYN GETTY & STUART TOWNEND

Thirsting for God

I was looking at Psalm 42 while preparing for a devotion:

"As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?”

We talked about the difference between saying you hunger after God and “My soul thirsts for God”. When you are hungry it can be intense and distracting, but usually you can go on with what you are doing. The hungry feeling goes away and comes back more intense the next time. But if you are thirsty, it is very distracting and hard to think about anything else until you quench that thirst. Do we thirst for God like that?

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.    (see context below)

I love how honest the Psalmist is with God! Honesty is so important in any relationship if you want to be close, but in no relationship is it more important than in our relationship with God. What keeps us from being completely honest with God? Do we not want to take the time? Are we afraid God won't like what we have to say? If we are honest with God will it force us to be honest with ourselves – and we don't really want to go there? Whatever the obstacle – remove it and start being honest with the Sovereign God of the universe who loved the world so much that he sent his only Son to die so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life (see John 3:16).

I also love how the Psalmist speaks truth to himself “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Where does this come from? God's word is truth and we need to be reading it every day. And when we are strugging, we can go to his word and find what we need. But what if we don't have a Bible or our phone handy? How much better to hide his word in our hearts, so that when the time comes the Holy Spirit can bring it to the forefront of our minds. Memorize God's word and be strategic about it. We all have stuggle areas. Why not memorize something that speaks to the struggle you have? And if you need suggestions, ask a trusted friend or an older brother or sister in Christ.

42 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.        ESV