Homesick

God with you - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 84

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2084&version=NIV;ESV

 

Have you ever felt homesick? Feeling homesick is not so much that you miss the home, as you miss the people in the home.

 

After retiring, my parents lived in Florida for a number of years. Following my Dad’s death, I went to help my Mom move. As we left the house for the final time, I placed a single rose on the mantle in memory of my Dad. I never lived there, but it was where he last lived; and it was home.

 

The Temple had that same kind of effect on the writer of this psalm. According to my NIV study notes, the writer was a Levite priest who had been active in the temple services. However, at the time of the writing, it is speculated that he was barred from the temple because Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had invaded Judah.

 

You could say that the author was homesick for the Temple. But, a more accurate description would be to say that he missed the Lord Almighty; the sovereign God.

 

² My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.           NIV

 

His heart ached because he remembered how joyful he felt when singing God’s praises in the Temple; how people would be strengthened by traveling to Jerusalem to be in God’s presence. He wanted to be in the Temple more than anything else, because his Lord was there.

 

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked. NIV

 

The psalmist was homesick because he believed God lived in the Temple. But it’s different for you and I. You don’t have to make a trip to Jerusalem to be in His presence, because Jesus is with you always; and not just with you, but within you.

 

Sometimes you may still feel homesick for the Lord Almighty, but that doesn’t change the truth of the fact that He is with you. You just need to pray and trust in Him.

 

The song by Matt Redman titled, “Better is One Day” communicates in song what I’m saying in words. Click on the link below and see if God doesn’t touch your heart.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Fj9bbEmVk

 

 

 

Unmet Expectations

God with you - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 77 

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2077&version=NIV;NLT

 

Unmet expectations! Everybody has them. It might be as small as your expectation of another driver to not cut you off. Or it could be as big as the expectations of a spouse not being fulfilled, resulting in a marriage breaking apart.

 

Whether they are the garden variety, daily living type of unmet expectation, or the earth shattering, life changing type; we all have them. The question is, how do you deal with them?

 

The psalmist had unmet expectations of God that hurt him deeply.

 

² When I was in deep trouble,
    I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
    but my soul was not comforted.            NLT

 

As a result of his unfulfilled attempts to connect with God, he asked some painful questions.

 

⁷ Has the Lord rejected me forever?
    Will he never again be kind to me?
⁸ Is his unfailing love gone forever?
    Have his promises permanently failed?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he slammed the door on his compassion?          NLT

 

You may have asked yourself those same questions. However, the most important question to ask is, how did you respond? The psalmist reached the point of no return when something unexpected happened.

 

¹⁰ And I said, “This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
¹¹ But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
    I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.         NLT

 

The Psalmist goes on to recount how God miraculously brought the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, into the freedom of the Promised Land. He brought them salvation. It is the same salvation that He offers to us; that is, to leave the land of slavery to sin for the Promised Land of freedom in Jesus.

 

Unmet expectations! Have yours led you to give up hope? Or do you keep reaching out to God? For He is faithful; He loves you with unfailing love; He is with you always and at work constantly. There is none other like Him. remember His wonderful deeds.

 

 

 

 

Weather the Storms of Life

God with you - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 46 

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2046&version=NIV;NLT

 

The saying, “weather the storm” can refer to the actual weather outside, but often it is used to refer to real life struggles. Struggles like having a still born baby; the unexpected loss of a job; your fiancé breaking up with you; the death of a loved one; dealing with an addiction.

 

The possibilities of storms in your life are endless. So how do you deal with them? What do you place your confidence in when storms come into your life? Because one thing is for sure; they will come.

 

Some people put their confidence in a relationship. Some prefer to face things on their own, trusting in their own ability to manipulate, intimidate or problem solve. Some trust in their material things; their bank account or portfolio; the car they drive or the neighborhood they live in.

 

David had this to say about how to weather the storms of life when you feel like your world is falling apart.

 

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.
² So we will not fear when earthquakes come
    and the mountains crumble into the sea.
³ Let the oceans roar and foam.
    Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! NLT

 

Maybe your life isn’t falling apart, but the stress and struggle of daily living can begin to feel like that. Regardless of whether you are facing a crisis event or daily struggles, David suggests an answer that will help.

 

⁷ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
    the God of Israel is our fortress.

¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God! NLT

 

Spending time in the presence of the Lord sounds so easy and makes so much sense. And yet, it’s so hard to do in our modern world of business. However, in order to weather the storms of life, no matter how acute they are, we must spend quiet time, alone with the Lord.

 

¹¹ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
    the God of Israel is our fortress. NLT

 

There’s No Place Like Home

Who is the Lord? - A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 23 - My Shepherd

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023&version=NIV;NLT

 

In the 1939 classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz”, Dorothy goes on an adventure that takes her far, far away from her home in Kansas to the Land of Oz. While there, she learns that her heart’s desire is to be home in Kansas with the people she loves.

 

By clicking her heals together three times and saying, “There’s no place like home”, the magical shoes miraculously transport her to Kansas; to her home; and to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.

 

The job of a shepherd is to provide, protect and be ever-present for the security and safekeeping of his sheep. David was a shepherd and knew firsthand what this meant. He knew how to use a slingshot to fight off an enemy; he knew how to find a stream or a meadow to feed his sheep; he knew how to guide them along safe paths.

 

⁴ Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.

 

Jesus knew what it meant to be a shepherd too. In fact, Jesus told his followers, “I am the good shepherd”. As David wrote in Psalm 23, Jesus provides, protects and is constantly present with his sheep. He also pursues his sheep with his unfailing love.

 

⁶ Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord.

 

Like Dorothy, the desire of our heart is to go home at the end of each day where we receive nourishment; where we are safe from the dog eat dog world outside; where we are surrounded by the people we love and those who love us.

 

But our true home is when we are “in the house of the Lord”; in the presence of the Living God.




When that happens, it doesn’t require clicking your heals together and saying, “There’s no place like home”. And, you won’t be in Kansas.