Remembering and Longing
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, I do so look forward to being with You. Let me experience Your loving presence again now.
Read Psalm 42:1-11
[1] For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. [2] My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? [3] My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” [4] These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. [5] Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. [6] My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon-from Mount Mizar. [7] Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. [8] By day the LORD directs his love, 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 must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” [10] My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” [11] Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
Reflect
How does the psalmist find his hope and comfort?This and Psalm 43 were originally written as one long prayer. We can’t be certain what situation occasioned them nor why they became separated. The imagery here is vibrant and breathtaking–from a deer in the wilderness to a roaring waterfall and mighty waves breaking on the shore. They spiral in and out of desperation, longing and praise, beautifully illustrating the tension of a life of faith. “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” asks the refrain (42:5,11; 43:5). In the spiritual valleys of life (42:1), when unbelievers taunt us (42:3), it is hard to remember the joy of fellowship (42:4). In the times when God feels silent and distant (42:9), it’s hard to remember his presence (42:8). What I also love about these two psalms is that they start from a place of longing. “My soul pants for you,” begins Psalm 42, before moving on to the complaint “Why have you forgotten me?” (42:9). This longing is the crux of the “now-but-not-yet” life we live, with glimpses of God that are a poor reflection of the full glory that we are promised (1 Cor. 13:12) when we see him face to face!
Apply
To what extent do you “long for God”? However you’re feeling today, find some words of praise for our Father!
Closing prayer
Lord God, give me, I pray, a sincere longing for You and a reminder that You are always with me.
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