February 26, 2015 – Thursday

Start Time: 6:20 AM

End Time:  6:57 AM

Title: For the Director Of Music.  A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

Scripture: Psalm 42-:1 – 11

God’s Message / God’s Promise / God’s Commands:

→ Psalm 42 is one of the popular psalms of David that was turned into a song.  Each word speaks of thirst and longing of the heart.  David was clearly missing God.  In a time of his life where David felt the Lord was afar, his heart was in pain and aching...seeking not the dissolution of his problems or removal of his enemies, his only heart's desire was God, His presence.  Above all the requests he made in prayer to God, his ultimate desire is the presence of the Lord.  Now this is David seeking for the "Giver" rather than the "gift".  Looked at every word he wrote, he compared his soul to a deer who pants (to pant means to breathe hard and quickly; like a short gasps; in a labored manner) for streams of water.  This speaks of a deer gasping for breath, literally on the edge of dying.  David literally was saying that his soul is dying with the presence of the Lord.  This may seem dramatic but as I think of it, David considers God as his oxygen and with God being silent, is like his life fading away little by little literally.  David declared his soul thirst for God, for the living God.  Now, have you ever been without water for days?  The sight of it makes you crazy (in a way), you will do everything and anything to get to it; this is David at this time, dying when God hides from him.  Can we honestly say we feel the same or have we become numb and treat the day just like any other even without feeling or experiencing the presence of the Lord in our lives?  David spent nights in tears and his tears has become his food, meaning he cried as many times as he eats.  Today, that will be a normal 3 times a day, some would be about 5-6 times a day.  That's how often David cries for the Lord in a day as people tries to rub it onto him the absence of his God.

Now what kept David alive?  In verse 4, he answered that question...he remembers the days he had with the Lord in his temple with shouts of Joy and praise.  That's why it is important that every day we create amazing memories with God for a time will come when God will be silent and what will sustain us, are the memories we created with Him.  David was not short of it so he lives with those memories in his heart and mind. 

In verse 5, we see David encouraging himself; motivating his soul not to be downcast but to put his hope in God!  Clearly we learn here that we are our own motivator!  We are our own encourager!  Time will come when no one else can lift or speak words of encouragement to us so we must know how to do it ourselves!  We have to love ourselves the same way we love others so the same way we encourage others, we ought to encourage ourselves too.  And what is David's solution for his downcast soul?  Great memories with God!  In verse 6, he said, my soul is downcast within me therefore i will remember you.  Let us remember God daily.  David did so, which kept him alive at that point in time of his life.  He spoke of deep calling to deep, this is the intimacy of his relationship with God - it's deep and it's calling out for him too.  David recalled his day with the Lord, where God directs His love for him and at night God's song with him.  David remembers his day with God, walking side by side with Him all day long.

In verse 9, David illustrated his need of Him; his hunger by showing us his suffering without God.  And he ended this psalm with again, encouraging himself to put his hope in God for He has not failed him ever since.  He pushed himself to praise God.  At this time, David may not felt to worship or praise because of his current condition, especially that God seemed to be far from him, yet he pushed himself to put his trust and hope to God.  Let us do the same and practice this in our lives in times when things seemed to be a mess or feels like God is not around.  We ought to encourage ourselves to continue, push ourselves to hope in Him at all times, knowing it all too well that God never leaves us nor forsake us.  Hallelujah!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, great and awesome God!  My streams of water, my life, my oxygen...You are my life Lord and without You, life becomes a blur and dark.  Lord, I want to desire You the same as David did.  To understand the value of Your presence in my life so much that I will be sensitive enough when You hide Your face from me because my whole being will start to wither and die without You.  Help me Lord to thirst and long for You the same as David did.  I want to make You the ultimate desire of my heart.  Help me Lord to be an encourager and motivator to myself, not just to others.  Help me to see that I need to push myself to believe and hope in You even in times when things seem to be dark and You are nowhere to be found.  Help me Lord, give me the heart of David.  In Jesus' Name, Amen!