Psalm 84 was staring me in the face this morning as I continued my annual journey through the Bible...
A friend of mine emailed me Psalm 84 during the last week of my Dad's life... He felt it represented the passion and heartbeat of my Dad. He was right... I read it several times during that week and found it a source of incredible strength.
This morning I read these words again and was challenged to pray that I might live my life with this kind of desperate longing for God...
Psalm 84 (NLT)
"I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home there, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God! How happy are those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude.
Happy are those who are strong in the LORD, who set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains! They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem. O LORD God Almighty, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Israel. Interlude.
O God, look with favor upon the king, our protector! Have mercy on the one you have anointed. A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. For the LORD God is our light and protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will the LORD withhold from those who do what is right. O LORD Almighty, happy are those who trust in you."
I pray that a "passion for God's house" and God's presence will always consume me. For it's only God's presence that take a situation wrought with pain and somehow turn it into a source of refreshment and strength...
How desperate are you for God?
No comments:
Post a Comment