Hope From Ashes

Read: Psalm 63:1-8; Isaiah 5:1-7; Luke 6:43-45

Personally, I am a fan of posting positive quotes and scriptures on social media – to inspire others, and also for gentle reminders when these posts pop up each year on my daily memories, as they are often just the motivation I might need that day. One of my favorite quotes says that “The secret to a happy life is giving God the first part of your day, the first priority to every decision and the first place in your heart” (Marcus Lamb). This quote to me encompasses so much of what David writes in Psalm 63:1-8 as he praises God despite the struggles and trials he faces as he wanders in the desert – likely fleeing for his life. And David begins his writing in verse 1 by saying God “earnestly I seek you,” which when translated in Hebrew earnestly means ‘first thing” ~ that early in the morning the first thing he does is reach out to God and praise God. Just as in my favorite quote, David gives the VERY first part of his day to God. Lamentation 3:22-23 says that “Scripture promises His mercies are new in the morning.”  When David is struggling and running for his life, instead of complaining and grumbling, David knows that His God is there and the VERY FIRST THING he does with his morning is praise God for his faithfulness as he knows that God will provide for him.

I try throughout all hours of the day to live a life worthy of God’s grace for me, but admittedly I often fall short. I do make every effort to give God the first part and the last part of everyday, free from distractions, but I often fall short. I wish I were more vocal about my faith. I am a more private person when it comes to my faith and my prayer time. However, this is an area where I want to work and grow – I want to be more comfortable with being vocal and LOUD about my faith and calling out to God both in praise and in prayer when in need. Not only does David give his first waking moments to HIS GOD, he also does not appear to be sitting in silent prayer. He writes that he will lift up his hands and will praise God with singing lips! We see this in other passages in Psalm 77:1, where Asaph writes that “I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.” God wants us to call out to him in times of need, and to cling to him and know that he will uphold us as David writes in Psalm 63:8.

In all of his different ways of glorifying God in Psalm 63, David is declaring LOUDLY, throughout his waking hours and during his hours before sleep, that God is HIS GOD and that he longs for a relationship with God and loves God more than he loves his own life.  He desires this oneness with God even more than he longs for life-sustaining water as he wanders through the dry desert. He says that God’s love is better than life itself and he knows that God’s love will hold him up in times of need.

God is indeed MY GOD, and he is the life-sustaining water that we need in times of thirst. But can I honestly say that I hold God above absolutely all else in my life 100% of the time? Can I say honestly that I never long for financial security and the creature comforts of life more than I thirst for God? Can I say truthfully that my need to behold My GOD is always my first focus of the day? I truly cannot say that. And I am sure that I am not alone. I am sure that so many of us go to sleep and wake up worrying about our children, our retirement, our finances, the health of a loved one and other worries. But I know that MY GOD sees and understands that. He knows me and knows that while I love him and thirst for him, that I am also human and that is okay. God tells the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  God knows my shortcomings; and he knows my desire to overcome them and walk a path more focused on MY GOD, on OUR GOD.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for your unfailing love, even when we do not always feel worthy. Forgive us for the times we sit quietly in our faith when you ask us to exalt you out loud. Help us to find the courage to worship you and praise you, shouting from the rooftops with no fear of judgement or embarrassment.  Forgive us for the times that we focus more on worldly things and help us to give our worries to you and let our focus instead be on you and your life-sustaining love for us. Help us to wake with our hands lifted in praise to you, to end our days in prayer and thanksgiving with our thoughts on you as we sleep rather than on the worries that often consume us. Help us to walk more closely with you, knowing that you will sustain us and uphold us in times of need – we just need focus on you and call out to you both in times of need and in times of thanksgiving and tribulation. In your name we pray, Amen.