It’s the first night when Jen is speaking at an out-of-state conference and I turn into “Super Dad”. Fun Friday usually entails a dinner out on the town, some type of entertaining event like a movie or putt-putt, and wraps up with a shake from Fran’s.
A couple of months ago, I had a bit of a busy Friday, and “Super Dad” was running a little late on delivering the Friday fun. To which the kids quickly pounced claiming they were “starving”.
Feeling a little under the pressure, I entered into a lecture on how none of them have ever known what it feels like to actually be “starving”. I went on to tell them that from now on, “starving” is not a word we are allowed to use. You can say, “I’m hungry”, but never “I’m starving”.
The reality was that I was starving too. And it was making me a bit cranky.
It’s amazing what we’ll say and do when we’re in need. It takes us to a place of vulnerability that we cannot easily hide. Eventually it shows up in our words, demeanor, and even actions. Sometimes it can be a good thing. Sometimes it can be bad.
David was in the desert when he wrote Psalm 63. He was in need. He might have been a little desperate. Probably a bit vulnerable. And for him, it was a good thing, because He leaned on the strength of God’s faithfulness and goodness:
O God, you are my God,Matthew Henry wrote, “When faith and hope are most in exercise, the world appears a weary desert, and the TRUE believer longs for the joys of heaven.”
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you. – Psalm 63:1-3
While Henry was speaking mostly of life after death, I think the true believer longs for the joys of the Kingdom of Heaven today. It’s the realm, that because of the cross, breaks through in our lives when we are desperately seeking God and His will becomes ultimate in our lives. It’s the perspective that manifests when we are starving and looking only to God and His goodness to fill.
Father, David wrote that his soul “clings to you” and “your right hand” holds him up. Help us to find this confidence and place. We so easily deceive ourselves and misread our own motives. We so naturally stay self-sufficient. In a “dry and weary land, where there is no water”, thank you for your continued grace and mercy. Amen.
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What a rich Psalm…..maybe someone should write a song…with some of the lines from it.
ReplyDeleteSomething that correlates to a book that I am reading jumped out at me this morning. Verse 3 says;
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
I am at a point in my faith life…that including folks who have not had a faith journey before, is becoming more and more natural. But there are so many times that I have acted like a bull in a china shop….and I did anything BUT glorify God.
There was this line in the book The Reason for God….where Keller is talking about people initially making the distinction between “religion” and the Gospel….and we’ve all heard this from someone who is not a Christ Follower…..”that is too easy….you mean, all I gotta do is have this relationship with God and I can do anything I want?”
The religious (or the Pharisee) might take this as an opportunity to jump down the throat of the irreligious…(and I have done this) to say, “No way sinner! you don’t keep on sinning so that grace is multiplied” (which is somewhat scriptural) you don’t trample on the free grace of God. What a stupid thought….seriously!”
The problem with that answer…is that it is spoken from a defensive posture. The Pharisee is more substantiated by his religiousness…than by God’s grace…therefore, he feels compelled to make another Pharisee than a Christ Follower living under grace.
And it came to me this morning….that nope…that type of talk was reserved for believers. When speaking to someone about Christ….with no faith background, we should just say yes….sure….you can do anything you want. Say yes so that this person may taste and see that Lord is good. What happens after that, as we all know…..Christ changes our wants.
The question that the seeker is asking is “spoken outside of an experience of radical Grace” (according to Keller). And I am not saying we should soft sell the Gospel….but our posture needs to continually be inclusive…and not exclusive. Because I truly believe that God’s love is better than life….
This is part of the reason that this was my favorite chapter of Keller's book so far (although the next one's really good too! Yeah, I read ahead again!). When your heart has changed, you don't *want* to do "anything"... you want to honor the gift of Christ's grace by following his instructions. And, when you screw it up, you don't have that overwhelming guilt, because Jesus has already dealt with your sin and forgiven you. Glory to God indeed!
ReplyDeleteCertainly takes the pressure off. It's amazing how frozen we become when we feel condemned and not "living up to" the standard. Wrong motivation, eh? Like Keller said, that's the difference between feeling we are saved by our moral ability (religion) verses his undeserved grace (gospel).
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the more we need the closer we come to God. I am not knocking David. We see how he longed for God day in and day out. David longed for God in bad times and good times. I think we need to be moving to a place in our relationship with God that we can long for Him when life seems to be going smooth as well as when the water is rough.
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