Have you ever felt like you're just going through life? Not growing in your faith? Maybe God feels farther away then usually? As if you're in a "spiritual desert" so to speak?
Yep, been there, done that. Or should I say that I'm there right now, or making my way out of that
"spiritual desert". I'm always hesitate to use phrases like that, but honestly I think in this case it fits. I read a few verses in the Psalms the other day and I want to share them with you.
Psalm 63:1-8 says,
"God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You.
I thirst for You;
my body faints for You
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
So I gaze on You in the sanctuary
to see Your strength and Your glory.
My lips will glorify You
because Your faithful love is better than life.
So I will praise You as long as I live;
at Your name, I will lift up my hands.
You satisfy me as with rich food;
my mouth will praise You with joyful lips.
When I think of You as I lie on my bed,
I meditate on You during the night watches
because You are my helper;
I will rejoice in the shadow of Your wings.
I follow close to You;
Your right hand holds on to me."
Those verses, to me, show a intimacy with God. And those verses have been my prayer the past few days. I've been telling God that I'm not there yet, but I want to be.
I've always wondered how to live for Jesus. I don't want to just get through life, or stay comfortably in the place I am now in my faith. I long to grow. I talked to one of my sisters about this and she said to try to live for Him through the small things I do throughout the day. Live for Him in the simple and mundane. Doesn't sound that hard... or does it? I would love to have Jesus be my every waking thought, the One I long for and the One who satisfies my soul. I'm not there yet, but I'm praying for God to get me there.
Here's part of the poem/prayer I wrote in my journal to Jesus.
"Oh God I long to long for You.
Help me to trust You when You aren't in view.
Help me out of this dry place I feel I'm in.
Help me to flee from the enticing temptations of sin.
This is my cry out to You Lord.
I desire to long for You more.
Help my life to reflect Your love,
to live for what is unseen and above.
Let my words shine through of You,
and for my thoughts to be pure and true.
This is my prayer God, my song.
Help me to remember it's here in Your presence I belong.
In my life I don't want to just get by,
don't want to feel worn and dry.
Oh God I want to thirst for You!
I pray that my spirit would be renewed!
This is my cry out to You Lord.
To You I long to run toward.
Turn this broken person I am into something beautiful.
Of You I want to be full.
Turn this cry into a song that glorifies You,
one that tells of Your love as true.
Mold me as a potter molds clay,
help me to grow in You each and everyday.
Refine me as gold is refined through fire.
You never wear out or tire.
To You I lift my hands in praise,
to glorify Your name."
Let's strive to live for Jesus. Let's pray and tell Him how we feel and where we want to be. Let's live to glorify Him.
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Here's a link to a beautiful song called Broken Prayers by Riley Clemmons. You should listen to it, it really has a powerful message.
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What's been going on with you? What's God been teaching you recently? Any Bible verses that have stuck out to you recently?
Feel free to drop me a comment below, I'd love to hear from you. :)
Sarah!!! I feel like I'm in the exact same place, a spiritual desert. I really like Psalm 63 too, I memorized it some time ago. Your poem encouraged and inspired me a lot. It is so true I want to be there with Him. Thank you for allowing God to use you.
ReplyDeleteAnd in case you're ever discouraged about your blog, know that you do make a difference. You shine out God's love and its beautiful.
Rachel
I love Psalm 63, it’s a really beautiful scripture- though aren’t they all? Yes, sometimes we want to be there with Him, we’re just not sure how to get there. For now I’m just praying to pray about it, while reading God’s Word, and writing some too :).
DeleteThank you for your encouraging comment Rachel, you’re so sweet.
That's a new song for me! Both the song you shared and your poem have some really powerful lines - as does Psalm 63. I'm hopeful that the Lord is bringing you out of the 'spiritual desert.' I trust that's something He delights to do, both for your good and His glory.
ReplyDeleteYou already know... I've also recently been in a place of spiritual dryness. But the Lord is leading me out. Sometimes I wonder if that's just the effect of talking/writing about Him. That often re-inspires my love for Him.
I feel that maybe, gradually, He’s working on bringing me out of spiritual dryness. But maybe while I’m here then He has something for me to learn. And yes, I think that that might be something He delights in doing... it’s kind of great yet strange thinking about the God of the universe, and He sees us, hears us, and loves us.
DeleteI can understand that, I love to write and when I write about Him I can almost put things into perspective more clearer. As can talking it out. I didn’t realize even where I was until I was talking to a friend about this.
Thank you Jordy for sharing your thoughts, and I trust that God has something enstore for you as He leads you out of your own spiritual dryness. :)
Lovely post, Sarah. <3 Broken Prayers is an amazing song!
ReplyDeleteThanks Faith :). It really is a beautiful song.
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