Today's Meditation
Read Psalm 63
1O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
9But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.
11But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
In the opening verse of this psalm, the author is seeking God. The metaphor the author uses here is interesting; that the soul thirsts after God "as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Thankfully, I've never really been in a place where there was no water available. However, many years ago, I did have an experience where my body depleted all of its ability to sweat and I was so dry that my body was to the point of fainting. I had to sit down. It was difficult to think clearly. I didn't understand what people around me were saying. Someone made me drink and put a cold and wet towel around my neck, face, and head to cool me down. My body NEEDED water. My body craved that thirst- quenching, life-giving, and rehabilitating water. Our souls thirst after God in much the same way at certain times in our lives.
I was blessed to be ordained in my home church, First Presbyterian Church of West Chester. This was the building and sanctuary where I'd grown up. I'd spent countless hours in the classrooms, the fellowship hall, the kitchen, the choir room, and the sanctuary. It was where my faith had been formed. I found God in that sanctuary, so I do understand those of us who ache to get back to our places of worship. But I also found God, over the years, in the quiet place of our woods and valleys near home, in the running waters of the Brandywine, the rocky cliffs of the mountains in Potter County, at the mighty waves of the ocean along the coasts. I also found God in the bustling noise of the city, in the greeting of friends on the street, in volunteer work at the soup kitchen. Growing up I found God everywhere and I still do. Look around and God is there.
Do you thirst for God today?
Where do you see God right now?
In This Very Room This is the song our choir director, Robin Frenz, sang for me at my ordination service on Oct 7, 1990.
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