tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176231645022543980.post674761569021863783..comments2024-03-21T21:08:08.923-07:00Comments on Celebrate the Psalms: Psalm for Sunday, August 31, 2014Editor @ Parishworld.nethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11351018547370080019noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176231645022543980.post-52927553340549608952014-08-29T07:31:51.661-07:002014-08-29T07:31:51.661-07:00The imagery used in this Psalm is powerful. "...The imagery used in this Psalm is powerful. "My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God." We can imagine David in the barren desert, utterly parched in his mouth, but also in his soul. Sometimes, our circumstances seem dire to us too, as if we've been plucked from our homes and thrown into a desert. We search and search for the way out, but end up further confused and lost. And very, very thirsty. In our desperation, the Lord provides. I must say it's not always cold, fresh water, but thirst-quenching, all the same. <br /> <br />My 13-year-old son is enduring a rough patch with his social life; friends have turned on him and classmates have excluded him. I know the parents of some of these kids who are being less than nice. My first instinct is to put up a wall around my child and confront the other adults. Instead, I know enough to turn to the Word for direction. Would you believe what the Lord has shown me through some devotionals this week? "Practice Sonship, not sonship." It felt like a slap in the face to read these words. Had I made my child an idol? Did I think my son was special, worthy of more attention than others? It was certainly thought-provoking. <br /><br />Then, one after another, the Lord's messages were coming through loud and clear: "Choose to Forgive... Only God has the power to change your feelings toward the person who hurt you." I began to understand that my son's trials were a way of bringing all of us closer to the Lord at the start of this school year. Then, God had to send me the challenge: "Pray for your enemies." Specifically, the message was: Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you (Luke 6:28). In my hurt and anger, these were the last words I felt like reading. <br /><br />However, I have learned that obedience is most pleasing to the Lord, even when we don't feel like listening. So, my son and I are actually praying for his peers, that they be blessed, and that their hearts are touched. Nothing has dramatically changed yet, but we know His timing is perfect. As a family, we still have the pain of these wounds, the thirst that is still there. However, I know that our healing cup is being filled... even as I write this. <br /> J Kimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176231645022543980.post-69942828608020327872014-08-28T07:40:04.310-07:002014-08-28T07:40:04.310-07:00Like the Psalmist David there was a time for me wh...Like the Psalmist David there was a time for me when I was desperately looking for the Lord's presence and experienced spiritual thirst that overwhelmed me. I realized that my life is not a life without God. I felt void and emptiness of life. <br /><br />No matter what I do and try to please myself, it does not work at all. Only God can fill me with His peace and joy. That's why St Augustine said, "You will be restless unless you rest on God." He is right. <br /><br />I, a human being as a work of His hand, am to seek out His loving presence even though I indulge in sinful practices that separate me from Him. Why? Our soul can never be satisfied without Him.<br /><br />My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. That is my prayer, asking Him to come into my life to direct me along the right path.<br />Bethnoreply@blogger.com