This morning I am reflecting on David's Psalm 63. He wrote it while in the desert, and it seems very appropriate today. Here are the verses I am meditating upon - Psalm 63:1-8 NIV:
[1] "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
[2] I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
[3] Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
[4] I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
[5] I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
[6] On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
[7] Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
[8] I cling to you; your right hand upholds me."
In the natural realm here in KC, we haven't had any rain for a long time. When I look at the trees, the grass, anything that needs water, they are all drooping. I find myself longing for rain for the sake of the ground around me, for the farmers who depend on their crops, etc. I can't imagine life in a desert where there is hardly ever any rain.
David is using a similar experience to shape his language of longing for the Lord, and that too I can relate to in my daily life. Personally, it seems like I have been waiting on the Lord to move for a good year and a half in the area of my job. While there have been occasional breaks, and signs of hope, the gradual direction has been a downward trend, and I was telling someone recently that I felt like Elijah sitting by the stream and I was watching it dry up (see 1 Kings 17).
Some days feel exactly like David in the first verse. However, I have been choosing to focus less on my dryness and more on God's goodness. I have been reminding myself of the truth, of all that I have seen the Lord do in my past, and holding onto to those, clinging to the Lord! The truth is HE is good! He has a good plan for me! He is my provider! My identity isn't in my job, it is found in Him! He loves me! He isn't punishing me! He isn't surprised by this situation, and knows how it will be resolved! He is teaching me more about His faithfulness. He is actively arranging everything even though I can't see it. He will not forsake me! I am greatly blessed! I am in His favor!
In the same way as I can water my garden and flowers, and even my yard in the natural, I can provide water to my soul by remembering the good things the Lord has done, even while I am waiting for Him to move! I can praise God for His answer before I see it! I can remind myself of His faithfulness in the past and His never changing character! I can remember all the good, all the blessings, all the sweet times of intimacy and water my own soul, and establish hope as my foundation of understanding. I may not see my future clearly, but I know God and can trust in Him.
Looking back at David's song to the Lord, he was in a desert, but was looking forward into his future and seeing how God was going to bless him. He knew God, knew His promises were good, knew he could put his trust in God, and cling to Him. That is what I am choosing to do today! I will praise Him i the midst of my uncertainty knowing that God is fully in control, and has a great plan of blessing and abundance!
Amen! I will praise You Lord!
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