WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Think of a time in your life when God felt really near. Then ask yourself what your deepest longing is for at the moment. Desperation, longing and praise The imagery in these two psalms is breathtaking. Originally written as one long prayer, it spirals in and out of desperation, longing and praise; a beautiful illustration of the tension of a life of faith. ‘Why are you downcast, O my soul?’ asks the refrain (42:5,11; 43:5). In the spiritual valleys in which we find ourselves (42:1), it is hard to remember that God can lead us out (43:3); when unbelievers taunt us (42:3,10; 43:1,2) it is hard to remember the surety and joy of fellowship (42:4); in the times when God feels silent and distant (42:9, 43:2), it’s hard to remember his presence (42:8). Glimpses of God What I also love about these two psalms is that they start from a place of longing. ‘My soul pants for you’, begins Psalm 42, before moving on to the complaint ‘Why have you forgotten me?’ (42:9). This longing is the crux of the ‘now-but-not-yet’ life we live, with glimpses of God that are a poor reflection of the full glory that we are promised (1 Corinthians 13:12). In these ways the life of faith looks like a life of remembering and longing. The remembrance of God’s goodness keeps our feet grounded, and the longing keeps our hearts straining ahead to the hope of future transformation. And that is reason enough to praise! Respond: However you are feeling today, find within yourself some words of praise for our Father! http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-11-11