Scripture:
Psalm 42:2&5
Vs 2 “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”
Vs 5 “Why are you cast down, O my soul …. Hope in God …”
“My soul is cast down down within me; therefore I remember you …”
Observation:
David is in a horrible place. He feels separated from God’s presence. And what are the people around him saying to him in this tough soot?
They are saying, “Where is your God?”
So, David is not only discouraged within himself.
He is surrounded by people adding to the discouragement! Not a good place to be!
But when David is in a terrible present moment what’s his response?
Cry out to God … “My tears have been my food …”
Hope in God … “I shall again praise Him…”
Remember God … “From the land of Jordan…”
Application:
If David, a man after God’s own heart, is going to go through tough times, I need to expect I will, as well.
David’s solution for those times?
Cry out to God.
Hope in God for the future.
Remember God’s presence in the past.
My solution for those times?
Fix the present moment!
What’s wrong?! And How can I fix it?!
At those times when God somehow seems absent …
When I feel empty … thirsty … craving …
(“Like a deer panting for water” as vs 1 says)
Do I even recognize that it’s God that I’m craving?
Or do I attribute a “lacking” in my life to something I can solve?
More leisure, more money, more fun.
Or maybe even more purpose, more fulfillment, more accomplishment.
More acknowledgment, more recognition.
More … something …
When I’m “thirsty” …
Is it God I acknowledge?
Is it God I hope for?
Is it God I remember?
Why is his important?
Because if I don’t do these things, I will stay thirsty … Longing … Craving … Never Satisfied.
Drinking the water of the world only leads to more thirst … again and again and again.
As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, only He is the source of “living water” … endless life where we never go thirsty.
Cry out to God.
Hope for Him in the future.
Remember Him in the past.
Don’t fill my present thirst with something other than Him.
Prayer:
Father God, you provide life.
Thank you.
Forgive me when I try to fill my thirst with something besides You.
Thank you for Hope. It’s only in You.
Thank you for filling my mind with memories of You.
Thank you for Your presence, that you are with me!
-Dan Shontere