“O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”
Psalms 63:1-7 NKJV
Dry and thirsty land
To be a follower of Jesus in these perilous times is to feel forsaken, for it can seem as if few are seeking after God. Very often, there is a sense of oppression, as it can feel as if the walls are pressing in on those who know the Lord.
I rejoice when the Lord enters into my struggle and brings to mind His faithfulness. This morning He gave me Psalm sixty three as a reminder. David was being pursued by Absalom, and he was driven from his home. He desired for the earlier times, when he could go into the house of God.
Even though separated from the sanctuary physically, he knew that God was with him as he trod about in that dry and thirsty land. We have great advantage over David, for the Lord has put aside houses made with human hands, and has instead set up residence in men and women of flesh and blood. God is in us.
I rejoice in all that the Lord is doing, as the my interior is being made new, even as the my exterior grows weary and old. I am driven on by the promise of the mystery, when this feeble body, is resurrected and made whole. I Iook forward all the more to that time when I enter Heaven to be glorified.
Until then, I rejoice as David did, remembering that the Lord is with me.
“Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”
Psalms 63:4-7 NKJV
The world we live in is truly dry and thirsty, for the world has marginalized the word of God, and chosen its own wisdom which leads only to destruction. Finding no refreshment in the stale ponds of this world, let us thirst for the pure fresh springs provided only by the Lord.
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?” When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”
Psalms 42:1-5 NKJV
The Lord shows us His presence in the darkness of the struggle. I am in the time of looking back, pondering retrospectively, all the things the Lord has done. I look back and I am amazed how He has delivered me through so many trials.
Brothers and sisters, there will be times when those around us will ask: “where is your God?” Let us remember the times when the Lord has been faithful, being encouraged for we know that he will be faithful again.
There will those who hit us with withering blows, hoping to see us falter and doubt our God. But let us be ready to answer them, relying on the word of God, for in it is the record of His faithfulness.
“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”
I Peter 3:13-17 NKJV
Let us be focused on the Lord in these times, being faithful ambassadors, reflecting the righteousness of Christ even when facing opposition. Let us not get caught up in counter punching, for we are called to higher things. The Lord will fight our battles, He will deliver the victory.
Let us make the most of those quiet moments, those times when the enemy is at bay. I rejoice in my solitude, in the time I have to reflect on Jesus. He has given me peace.
Yes my people, we are truly living in a dry and thirsty land, full of people who need a drink of the living water. I think of the woman at the well, coming out in the heat of the day, for she feared the shaming of those who knew about her. She encountered Jesus.
“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.””
John 4:7-10 NKJV
Living water.
That is the drink the world needs. Those of us who have found the refreshing stream of living water have the job of leading others. We are ones called to go and tell, to share the Gospel message, even to those who have rejected us.
When the woman at the well was able sip of the living water, she left everything and ran to tell the others.
“The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him.”
John 4:28-30 NKJV
We bring the witness that draws people to the Lord. They are not saved by what we have to say, but by encountering the word of God.
“Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.””
John 4:42 NKJV
Because of this, worry not about your delivery, for it is not your ability to bring the message, but the power of the Holy Spirit which goes before you and convicts the sinners.
It is dry and thirsty land, my people, let us drink deeply. Let us be prepared to go and tell others who are thirsty of wells spring of life.
““Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.”
Isaiah 55:1 NKJV
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Musings from an idle mind 
Oh my Bernie! This is a cool drink of water this morning, during this trying time. Thank you thank you thank you! The sweetest balm for me today was 1 Peter 3:13 – 17. It was a perfectly driven nail! Will you please pray for the Lord to guard his ministry through GCR@Saylorville?
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