Careful what you ask for!
Do you want God? How much? What would you sacrifice to find God?
This Sunday’s Psalm (Psalm 63, click here to read it) opens with the Psalmist’s desire for God:
“O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.”
In my experience, very few want the Lord in such a way that the desire overwhelms all other considerations. Most of us do not know the experience of thirsting to the point of fainting in a place where there is no water, but, as you might imagine, a person in such a place would sacrifice ANYTHING for water. Would you sacrifice ANYTHING for God?
The Psalm reminds is that this is one desire that God ALWAYS fulfills. But there is a catch. Often, when we say we want the Lord in our lives, what we really mean is that we want the Lord to make sure that things work out the way we want them. That is not wanting God, that is just wanting someone to fix our problems.
The desire for God does not presuppose what His presence might mean. It does not mean looking for an easy or pleasant life, but a life that draws us close to Him. Seeking God in the way the Psalmist does falls under the warning, “Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.”
But wanting God in our lives, in a way that overwhelms all else is the beginning of the road to what the Psalmist finds:
“My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips,
When I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the night watches.
For you have been my helper,
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast.
Pray that God will give you that desire, and fulfill it!
This column appeared in the March 24, 3019 issue of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
