Thirst for the Lord

Psalm 143

[one_half] Have you ever felt like life was closing in on you?  Have there been moments when it seemed like everything was about to come crumbling down?  Maybe it feels like tomorrow is April Fool’s Day and the whole earth is trying to play a cruel trick.  An old John Denver song said, “Some days are diamonds, some days are stones; sometimes the hard times won’t leave me alone.”

On days like that, I believe God listens with greater intensity as we lift our prayers of faithfulness.  That is the heart of Psalm 143.  The enemy is pressing in and the day seems to never end but the Lord is listening and responding to our need.  In fact, the Psalm contains some powerful themes that are related to the Lenten season.

For example; in verse five we find the commitment to remember all of the goodness of God that has been expressed in the past.  And in verse six we find the posture of prayer and obedience that opens our hearts to God as we ‘thirst for the Lord’ and seek the refreshment of our spirits. [one_half last=last]

[/one_half] I believe that sometimes the hard days are the best days.  Have you found that to be true?  Don’t get me wrong, I am not wishing difficult days for you or your family.  But I think you have seen that days of struggle will often evolve into experiences of great blessing.

I heard a witness to this truth just the other day when a young woman in our church shared about the loss of a friend and her renewed commitment to work to overcome breast cancer.  Hard days can become a blessing if we let the Lord do his work in our hearts.  It is the Romans 8:28 principle at work in our lives. [one_half last=last]