Wednesday 08/11/11
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. - Psalm 63:1
By my calculations I've traveled well over 3,500 miles in just under a month. Passed by who knows how many hundreds or perhaps thousands of billboards during those miles. Yet I only remember three of those countless billboards. I had just passed the Texas/Oklahoma border and was just a few miles into Oklahoma when the first billboard caught my eye. It was for McDonald's and was advertising some of their drinks. It had the pictures of the drinks in the background with this bold headline: $1 Buys Happiness! I remember kind of chuckling under my breath at that thought. But my laughter quickly turned to sorrow as I passed by two other billboards, one advertising a casino and the other an adult video store.
You see those other billboards where also offering happiness, joy and contentment. And while they were offering those things they have no more ability to fill them than a McDonald's sweet tea does to keep you from ever being thirsty again. While it's easy to see that a sugary drink won't satisfy for the rest of your life other things are much more deceptive. One such deception that is new to me (as in the past week or so) is the idea of being in a 'relationship'. The deception is that somehow if this relationship would come to fruition (in my timing) than I would be filled with joy and could than be content. It is a lie.
What my soul needs is to find satisfaction in God. That I would be able to say in agreement with King David that "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips." (Psalm 63:3-5) When I realize God's steadfast love towards me, that even though I was an enemy of God Christ still died for me. I will have great reason to have joy. When I learn that money and relationships are temporary, than I can begin to marvel at the fact that Christ redeemed me and I get to enjoy Him for all eternity.
Of all people on planet earth, I am realizing how much I need to progress in falling out of love with this world and continually falling deeper in love with Christ. I am constantly made aware of my weaknesses and inability to even find my joy in Christ. So I find what a good friend of mine wrote to me recently a great encouragement:
You see those other billboards where also offering happiness, joy and contentment. And while they were offering those things they have no more ability to fill them than a McDonald's sweet tea does to keep you from ever being thirsty again. While it's easy to see that a sugary drink won't satisfy for the rest of your life other things are much more deceptive. One such deception that is new to me (as in the past week or so) is the idea of being in a 'relationship'. The deception is that somehow if this relationship would come to fruition (in my timing) than I would be filled with joy and could than be content. It is a lie.
What my soul needs is to find satisfaction in God. That I would be able to say in agreement with King David that "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips." (Psalm 63:3-5) When I realize God's steadfast love towards me, that even though I was an enemy of God Christ still died for me. I will have great reason to have joy. When I learn that money and relationships are temporary, than I can begin to marvel at the fact that Christ redeemed me and I get to enjoy Him for all eternity.
Of all people on planet earth, I am realizing how much I need to progress in falling out of love with this world and continually falling deeper in love with Christ. I am constantly made aware of my weaknesses and inability to even find my joy in Christ. So I find what a good friend of mine wrote to me recently a great encouragement:
Psalm 86:4 "Gladden the soul of your servant, for to You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." The thing about this verse that I just love is that this is a humble cry to the Lord from the Psalmist to gladden the soul of His servant. His servant knows that he cannot gladden his own heart by his own doing; he needs the help of the Father. And I know that I need the help of our Heavenly Father right now as well, which turns this verse into my own humble cry.
My heart cries out Amen to that! Father, while I know I ought to find complete joy in you I lack even the ability to do so. So Father gladden my heart in you. Let me find your lovingkindness better than life. Oh, let my mouth offer praises with joyful lips to you alone. For you alone are worthy of my praise and adoration... let me not seek out joy in any other.