Two Questions

A Series on the Psalms – a collection of prayers
Feeling spiritually dry
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 63 

[Life is filled with emotions. The book of Psalms is a collection of prayers that express our emotions which are the cry of our soul for help and hope. In this series, we will be looking into the Psalms to learn more about ourselves and our Lord.]

  

David had two questions to answer. But in order to do so, he needed to flee into the Judean Desert. His son Absalom had crowned himself as king and led a rebellion against his father. He followed David into the wilderness with the intent of killing him.

 

The Judean Desert was the perfect place for David to hide. It is described as being “marked by barren wilderness, mountains, terraces and escarpments. It is crisscrossed by a number of valleys and has deep ravines cutting through the rock”. It’s also a stark land devoid of food and water.

 

Having been driven from his home, David must have felt isolated and alone. In addition, he was no longer in the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem where the sanctuary and the ark resided. Instead of being a safe place, the surrounding wilderness of Judea had become a spiritual desert for David.

 

¹ O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.            NLT

 

In his whole being, David desires the Lord. His soul thirsts and his flesh yearns for the Lord. He will seek him at dawn; watching for him; waiting for him. He will think about him throughout the night.

 

⁶ As I lie in bed, I remember you;
    all night long I think of you.    GNT

 

Throughout the Bible, the wilderness is the setting for extreme experiences including a severe lack of food and water, isolation, danger, divine deliverance and encounters with the Lord.

 

The nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Once that generation had passed, the next generation was given this command by Moses before entering the Promised Land.

 

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.   NIV                            Deuteronomy 6

 

As a result of David’s exile in the desert, he was able to answer two life-changing questions. First, what do you want so badly that you’re willing to do whatever it takes? And second, what keeps you awake at night?

 

Sometimes, we have to wander in the wilderness; we have to go through dry times; we have to struggle with adversity. And when we come out at the other end, we find that like David, there’s nothing more important than knowing the Lord.

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Reaching for the Invisible God

Psalm 13

 

 

For over 30 years I loved watching Robin Williams. I loved him in “Mork and Mindy”, “Good Morning Viet Nam”, “Mrs. Doubtfire”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Awakening”… I could go on.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okkhgZim5Ig

When news of his death was announced, tears came to my eyes. He was a year younger than me. He had it all - success, fame, fortune - everything that the world has to offer. But it wasn’t enough, so he committed suicide.

 

How much longer will you forget me, Lord? Forever?
    How much longer will you hide yourself from me?
How long must I endure trouble?
    How long will sorrow fill my heart day and night?
    How long will my enemies triumph over me?           Psalm 13:1-2 GNT

 

Robin no doubt felt much like David did. You may have felt this way yourself. Was it because of a broken relationship? A lost job? The unexpected death of a loved one? Health problems? Depression? Struggling with an addiction? Sometimes, even when everything is going right, God just feels far away. Where is he?

 

Phillip Yancey wrote in Reaching for the Invisible God, “Doubt always coexists with faith, for in the presence of certainty who would need faith at all”. Who indeed? In one way or another, we are all reaching for the invisible God. Robin Williams was. David did. You and I are. But will we find Him?

 

Life happens, and when it does we need to keep moving forward towards God even when we feel like He is not there; even when we feel completely alone. And if we do, then we can pray like David did:

 

I rely on your constant love;
    I will be glad, because you will rescue me.
I will sing to you, O Lord,
    because you have been good to me.     Psalm 13:5-6 GNT

 

Amen.

 

Eeyore or Tigger?

Numbers 14:1-9

Who’s your favorite: Eeyore or Tigger?

 

Have you ever noticed that there are two kinds of people in the world? One sees everything as half empty and the other as half full. In Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore is a half empty kind of guy: “It’s not much of a tail but I’m sort of attached to it”. While Tigger is always bouncing around: “Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! I almost bounced clear outta the book!”

 

In today’s passage the Israelites are half empty as they respond in despair to the report concerning the Promised Land: “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?” Sort of sounds like Eeyore doesn’t it?

 

While Joshua and Caleb are half full kind of guys: “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.”  Do you feel like bouncing with Tigger?

 

How did the other ten spies explore the same land as Joshua and Caleb but came to the totally opposite conclusion? The answer is in the last statement in today’s passage. “The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them”.

 

There are many examples in the Bible of people who believed and trusted that God would be with them in difficult, if not impossible situations. Moses ran away from Egypt and Gideon was hiding in a winepress when God promised each of them, “I will be with you”. The same promise is true for you and me.

 

Eeyore and Tigger are make believe characters from a fictional children’s book, but they have human traits. Traits that can be seen in people throughout the Bible. Traits that we can see in ourselves.

 

Are you more like Eeyore or Tigger? Or a better question to ask is this; do you see God at work in your life or do you only see the obstacles? Like the Israelites, do you ask God why, or like Joshua and Caleb do you ask God why not?