O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; he led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! For he satisfies him who is thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things. Psalm 107:1-9
This Psalm is something else. It is refreshing and risky in just these first nine verses. What I love most about this Psalm is that it is so wonderfully relatable. Ever been in a situation where your selfish desires take you deeper and deeper into the desert and you finally have reached your breaking point and you call out for God to carry you forward, I know I have.
We are so susceptible to enter into the arid desert of worldly temptation. We seem to always think _____ isn’t big enough or shiny enough, but if I get the new one it’ll release me of my trouble(s). We have to have more and more ______, and when we do our hearts will be satisfied. As we do this, I feel our hearts become parched of love and gratitude. Eventually we are aimlessly wandering the desert of “more and more”, because after all, the next big thing will only last for a short time before the new temptation.
Here’s the cool thing though, as cool and refreshing as a glass of spring water in the mountains after a long hike, God says, “Hey I got you. Quit allowing your hearts to be dehydrated by the quick fixes of shiny and glamour. Instead come to the fount of everlasting refreshment. The more you can live with a heart and spirit of abundance rather than of scarcity, the quicker you’ll learn that you have more than enough.” Talk about redeeming reassurance and direction.
How about it folks, can you start walking out of the desert that you don’t have enough, and journey with a heart that you have more than enough, and with that enough and abundance you can offer to your neighbor what might be lacking physically or spiritually: food, water, love, mercy, compassion, maybe just a daily smile? I bet you can.
Prayer – Refreshing and redeeming God. So often my heart becomes parched from the ways I live with selfish desires. Today, I offer up my heart like a lump of clay to be reshaped and molded into a selfless beating heart. I desire to be a disciple that lives out of abundance rather than scarcity, so that I may live differently in the world for Christ sake. Amen.