Title: Longing for God (03/17/2013)
longing for God
Longing For God
Psalm 63:1-8
1 <God who is near and strengthens you - A psalm of David. When I was in the wilderness of Judah> O God, you are my God. I desperately seek you. My soul thirsts for you in a barren, rough land where there is no water. I search for you with my whole body.
2 I saw you in the temple. There I saw the power and glory of the Lord.
3 I will praise you, for your love is better than my life.
4 As long as I live, I will praise you. I will raise my hands in prayer and praise your name.
5 I will be satisfied as if I ate the best food. I rejoice greatly, and I will praise thee.
6 I lie in bed and think of you. I think of you through the long night.
7 You are my helper; I sing under the shadow of your wings.
8 As I draw near to you, you hold me up with your right hand. (Easy Bible)
Sometimes I feel like this. “If we know God, how much can we know?” “Is it really possible to know God at all?” There are times when I think. Because the God of the Bible is too vast and too great for us to know and understand. God is the one who made the stars in the sky, and he is the one who leads human history as he wants with his almighty power. There are times when I think, “Is it really possible for me to meet and experience such a God?”
However, one surprising fact is that there are books that contain his words, his thoughts, and his plans. According to that book, the Bible, God wants us to be known. God wants to have a personal relationship with us, and He wants us to have intimate fellowship. It is said that God's purpose in creating human beings is to have fellowship with us.
It is said that God made man to resemble his own image from the moment he created him to prove that this is true. And, it is said that he also had a desire to know God. Among the characters in the Bible, a man like Solomon left these words in his writings. “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end God made what God is doing from beginning to end invisible).” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).”
Isn't it really interesting to say? He said, “He has planted eternity in the human heart.” We use the word “install” a lot these days. Installing a program on your computer is called “install”. When God created man, he installed a program in the human heart to long for eternity. If this is true, you and I have software that God has installed in our hearts from birth. Sadly, many people are unaware of this fact. I do not know that the program that God has installed in me is working. But, some people know that there is such a program working inside me.
However, most people are vaguely aware of this fact or live without knowing it at all. However, even for such a person, if given a little opportunity, the program that God has installed in us can be restored.
Now, with that in mind, read Psalm 63 again today.
O God, you are my God;
Oh God, you are my God.
I earnestly search for you.
I desperately seek you.
My soul thirsts for You;
My soul is thirsty for you.
My hole body longs for you
My whole body thirsts for you.
in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
In a barren and barren land without water...
I have seen you in your sanctuary
I saw you in the sanctuary.
and gazed upon your power and glory.
I have seen your power and your glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
Because your kindness is more precious than life
how I praise you!
How shall I praise you?
I will praise you as long as I live,
I will praise you as long as I live.
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
raising both hands and praying
In this prayer, is not the earnestness of one person and one soul who longs for God shown in every passage? That's what I thought as I read this psalm. “Once in a lifetime is good, God, make me yearn for you so much!” Do you feel the same way? Les Mis rables