October 11, 2012
Today's Photograph . . . . Instead Of Running From God, Run To Him (MQ) |
Bible Study Verse
Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? (NIV)
Thoughts
The desert place. The time in the wilderness. The dry time. The land between. The feeling of being abandoned, left alone. And He does not answer. Yes, you remember the time. We all understand the feeling. It feels like the skies are made of bronze: that the prayers are just a sham, just words that are bouncing off the ceiling. Our guard is down, our inner self vulnerable.
The desert place. The time in the wilderness. The dry time. The land between. The feeling of being abandoned, left alone. And He does not answer. Yes, you remember the time. We all understand the feeling. It feels like the skies are made of bronze: that the prayers are just a sham, just words that are bouncing off the ceiling. Our guard is down, our inner self vulnerable.
But is the feeling, the perception reality? No!!!
(Jack M)
Action Point
The human experience is frequented by times as described above. This verse from Psalm 22 prophetically expresses Jesus' thoughts from the Cross.
We too wonder "Why"? We may even ask that of God. Some say it's wrong to ask that question. But in the real world most of us do ask that at some time in our lives. Many times it is just an attempt to understand.
The reality is that as believers we are never alone. God will never leave us. He has committed this promise to us and will never renege on it.
Why then the dry times, the desert experiences? This is a time to regroup, a time to recommit, a time to seek God, rather than run from Him.
Instead of running from God, run to Him. Invite Him into the situation. Pray. Read the Word of God. Worship. Confess aloud your belief in Him and your dependency on Him.
He does care. He
will respond. He really is there, just as the verse above says. It's
just that we rarely see the situation for what it is.
". . . because God has said, "Never
will I leave you; never will I forsake you," Hebrews 13:5b (NIV). Good
advice is, "Don't make any decisions about God and His purposes while
you are in the desert place. If you do, you will almost always be
wrong."
Prepare for the dry times and dry places in the outdoors. Make sure you have ample water. Plan ahead of time by locating on maps the sources of water. Bring along some purifying tablets, or a filter for the water. At the least bring fire making equipment and boil the water to purify it before you drink it. Safe and pure water to drink can be a matter of death or life.
