My Soul Longs for You…

The older I get, the more I look back. I look back with fondness on simpler times, when I carried far less weight (literally and figuratively). My responsibilities were fewer…at least, they seem to be in hindsight. My body felt better. My mind, as far as I can remember, seemed sharper. Do you identify?

When stress is high or circumstances are not favorable, it can be easy to establish a pattern of thinking that glorifies our former days as better days. In those times, we have a choice to make. We can long for some fantasy in our past, or we can turn in trust in the Lord in the here and now.

For the next thirty days, I am taking a few minutes of every day to read and pray Psalm 143. It’s a psalm of David, who, in the midst of an extended trial prayed to the Lord for deliverance and guidance. Maybe you can identify with David’s plea for mercy. Maybe you can identify with feeling like the enemy has crushed your life to the ground. Maybe you are overwhelmed and appalled, today.

I believe central to this whole prayer is this confession: “My soul longs for You, as a parched land.” In the midst of a recent bout of longing for something simpler or easier, I heard the whisper, “When your longing for me surpasses your longing for all else, you will find what you are looking for.”

David is praying that kind of prayer, centered on a longing for God. Let’s join him.

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!

And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no man living is righteous.

For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.

Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is appalled within me.

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.

I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah.

Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.

Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;
For I trust in You;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;
For to You I lift up my soul.

Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

For the sake of Your name, O Lord, revive me.
In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

And in Your lovingkindness, cut off my enemies
And destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For I am Your servant.

Psalm 143 (NASB)

Happy Wednesday!