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How many church services have you been in that you get distracted? How easily, in our fast-paced culture, do we need something else? Our culture lacks a sense of immediate, enduring focus.
Yesterday, as I sat down to hear the sermon, I found myself wanting to grab my phone and check Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, the news… the list goes on. The sermon wasn’t boring, or too long, I just lacked focus. I had to force myself to focus upon the sermon and not let my mind wander aimlessly.
We have lost the wonder, and instead our minds wander.
We don’t engage in a Sunday service or in a community group, but we view it more as an item on a divine checklist.
Compare that attitude to the prayer of Psalm 63
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
(Psalm 63:1 ESV)
Earnestly…
Thirsts…
Faints…
These are words of focus and intention.
David has a heart that is focused upon the goodness and grace of God. He longs for God to move in his life. On the other hand, we are so quick to move on. Our hearts do not naturally linger on God’s goodness.
“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night”
(Psalm 63:5-6 ESV)
When David finds himself engaging the Lord, he lingers.
The words satisfaction and meditation are used so differently in our culture today than they were used in the Bible.
We often see Satisfaction as getting your way, but David talks about satisfaction in the way that we think of food after eating luxurious meal. “How could I ever want or need anything else to eat ever?”
Meditation is seen as an event where you sit still and empty your mind. The meditation that David talks about is an all-encompassing thought. A thought that pervades every moment of your day, even when you lay down to dream.
This is where the hard question comes:
Are you fully satisfied in the Gospel?
Are you filled with a holy joy and peace when you recognize the goodness of God?
Are you looking forward to communing with God again and again, through prayer, the church, the Word of God, the Lord’s Supper?
Are you like David who said “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Ps 63:8 ESV)
…or are you just trying to move on to the next thing.
Engage the Gospel today.
Dwell on the Goodness of the Son.
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