By: Mike Riley
When we look at the Old Testament, it’s interesting to note that David and the other writers, somehow managed to make God the center of their lives so that everything was related to God. To them, worship was the central activity in their life, not just something to “get through” until secular activities could be resumed. The process of letting God in on every detail of our lives is one that is sorely needed.
A study of the Psalms should become a step in the process of our recognizing that God’s true place is at the center of our lives (Matthew 6:33). As we read the Psalms, we see the Psalmists having an urgency, a desire, and a hunger for God that makes most of our spiritual efforts look anemic by contrast. For example, the imagery used tells us that they “panted” for God with their tongues hanging out, as an exhausted deer pants for water (Psalm 42:1).
They thirst for God — so much so, that they ask, “When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:2). Their thirst for God causes them to “long” for God as in a “dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). They lay awake at night dreaming of “the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4). They would rather spend one day in God’s presence than a thousand years elsewhere (Psalm 84:10). Do we have this kind of thirst and hunger for God?
Let’s think about it!