I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah Answer me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. Psalm 143: 5-8, NKJV.
My LORD and My God, Please bring us into Your presence as we study Your Word and allow us to learn from You. This we ask in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
There is so much food for thought in this passage of Scripture! Yesterday we looked at a very important aspect of the experiences of life – looking at them as part of “the whole.” I said that there was more to this thought, and that we were going to look at it today. For this, I invite you to go with me to Romans 8: 28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” While we are waiting to be delivered, let us remember that, the Word of God, which cannot lie, assures us that, “all things,” not only the “good” experiences of life, but even the “very bad” ones, in the hands of God, will have a “good” ending.
This text always brings to my mind, the life of Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, the patriarch. It is possible, that his brothers’ selling him to the merchants, may have been used by God in order for him to learn to depend wholly on his Heavenly Father, instead of his earthly father. The temptation, by Potiphar’s wife, could have been a means of strengthening his character and producing a man of integrity. His imprisonment may have helped to develop his leadership skills, when he was put in charge of the other prisoners. The fact that the cup bearer did not remember to tell Potiphar of his ability to interpret dreams by the grace of God, may have been the lesson in humility that he needed to finalize the work of making him the “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5: 17), that a personal encounter with God, produces! You will notice that for all of these possible lessons learned, I used the qualifying phrases, “may have,” and “could have.” The reason for this is, only God and the individual know, what really happens during the process of deliverance!
No matter what is the ultimate purpose of a painful experience, it does not feel good! We must not overlook, or minimize, this fact. So often we do this. We completely overlook the fact that the person is hurting, and we hasten to offer our personally developed “theological” explanations of why God is allowing the individual to go through a certain experience. I have found that sometimes silence, or a simple, sincere – “I do not know why this is happening to you, but I am so sorry,” is in order, and can be a true blessing to the person who is living the experience, and desiring deliverance.
The psalmist goes on to say, “I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah Answer me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit. There are several things taking place here: He is spreading His hands out to God – a posture of worship. Oftentimes these very difficult experiences can be used by God to take us to a higher level of worship and praise. It could also represent a child reaching out to his or her parent. When a child is in trouble, or in need, or in pain, the child’s natural reaction is to want to be cuddled by the parent. The psalmist is obviously in pain, most likely, emotional pain. So he reaches out to his Abba, for comfort.
His soul thirsts for God. Have you ever gone through a spiritual drought? I imagine it must be very uncomfortable. He describes the thirst of his soul as that of a “thirsty land.” You throw water on a dry ground, and it just disappears! It is as if it never received water. Some experiences are like that – they sap the soul of the refreshing waters of the Holy Spirit, and leave you feeling dry. Personally, I can tolerate hunger better than I can, thirst. Spiritually, I believe it must be even harder to bear! Therefore, he asks for an answer to his dilemma – now! Right now! If not, his soul will fail. He will become as one who is dead!
Now there is only one thing that He needs, only one thing will do – a glimpse of Abba’s face. Even in the darkest night, a glimpse of Abba’s face is the difference between going down to “the pit” (grave), and staying alive! He begs God not to hide His face from him. Some experiences will do that to us, they will make it hard for us to see the face of God. They fill us with guilt, and feelings of unworthiness, while the Adversary whispers in our ears, that God is not listening. If this ever happens to you, like the psalmist, remember to call out in faith. God is only “a prayer away.”
We will continue.
NOTE: Some editing has been done to this devotional.