thirsty for the presence of God

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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thirsty for the presence of God

Psalm 63:1-2 (JDV)

Psalm 63:1 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.
Psalm 63:2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.

thirsty for the presence of God

Three years ago, when Penny and I were hiking the Appalachian Trail, we had a night when we had no drinkable water. The next day we came off the mountain and into a city.  The first place we stopped at, I drank so much! I could not get enough. I remember that day when I read David’s experience here.

He is in the Judean desert, and he describes it as “a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.” But David sings about gazing not on a stream, lake or river, but on God’s sanctuary. He is thirsty for the presence of God.

Jesus went into this desert immediately after his baptism, and stayed there for 40 days. He too became physically hungry and thirsty. But he was also focusing on his thirst for God. When the devil came to tempt him, he rejected the temptation because he was not going to be distracted from his focus on worshiping and serving God.

Lord, we thirst for your presence.

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strength and hope belong to God

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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strength and hope belong to God

Psalm 62:11-12 (JDV)

Psalm 62:11 God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God,
Psalm 62:12 and covenant faithfulness belongs to you, Lord because you repay each according to his works.

strength and hope belong to God

Jesus has been singing this psalm and it had reminded him that if you put both the common person and the important person on a reality scale, the combined total weight would be less than a breath. So, what matters?

It isn’t your strength, because strength belongs to God. If you have it, it is because God has given it to you, and he can take it away.

God is being faithful to his own covenant of grace. You can have rest in the middle of a troubled life because of his covenant faithfulness. You can look forward to a reward at the restoration of all things because God has promised that reward.

Jesus struggled with many things in his life, but he was able to find peace by meditating of psalms like this, which reminded him that his present strength and future hope were in God’s hands.

Thank you Lord, that our strength and hope belong to you.

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less than a breath

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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less than  a breath

Psalm 62:8-10 (JDV)

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah.
Psalm 62:9 Common people are only temporary; important people, a lie. Together on a scale, they weigh less than a breath.
Psalm 62:10 Place no trust in oppression, or false hope in robbery. If wealth increases, don’t set your heart on it.

less than  a breath

Jesus keeps singing this psalm and it talks to him about how temporary human life is. It weighs both the common person and the “important” person, and when it puts them both on the scale — they weigh less than a breath.

Jesus would have the opportunity to side with the oppressors, or to join the robbers. He would remember these words and hold fast to his sky Father.

How about us? Are we putting our hope in wealth and importance? Anything we could gain apart from a relationship with God is less than a breath.

Lord, you are our refuge. Our trust is in you.

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present rest and future hope

Posted on May 16, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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present rest and future hope

Psalm 62:5-7 (JDV)

Psalm 62:5 Rest in God alone, my throat, because my hope comes from him.
Psalm 62:6 He alone is my rock and my deliverance, my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
Psalm 62:7 My deliverance and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God.

present rest and future hope

This is a song you can sing if you are going through a hard time, but you trust God to give you rest in the middle of your struggle, and eventually to deliver you out of all your troubles and bring you to permanent glory.
I imagine Jesus singing this psalm many times throughout his life. He was aware of all the threats to his life. He sang these words to reflect his dependence upon God alone for both present deliverance and in anticipation of future glory. His hope did not depend on his circumstances. He found his hope and his rest in God alone. So can we.
Thank you Lord, for your present rest and future hope.

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lean, totter

Posted on May 15, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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lean, totter

Psalm 62:3-4 (JDV)

Psalm 62:3 How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you attack as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
Psalm 62:4 They only plan to bring him down from his high position. They take pleasure in lying; they bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

lean, totter

Do you ever feel like a leaning wall or a tottering fence, on the verge of collapse, and a host of enemies attacking, waiting for that collapse? It’s a horrible feeling. You wonder how long you can last under the strain.

We have a support structure that those enemies are unaware of. We can lean, but that does not mean we are going to fall. We can totter, but we have a means of balance that is as steady as ever: God himself.

Lord, thank you for being our invisible means of support.

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my only stronghold

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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my only stronghold

Psalm 62:1-2 (JDV)

Psalm 62:11 I am resting in God alone; my deliverance comes from him.
Psalm 62:2 He alone is my rock and my deliverance, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.

my only stronghold

Why do I need deliverance so often, God?

“Perhaps it is all the other means of deliverance and escape that you have provided for yourself, Jeff.”

Huh?

“You have not learned to rest in me alone. When I am your only stronghold, then the things you keep asking for deliverance from will not shake you.”

Lord, I want to make you my only stronghold.

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many generations

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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many generations

Psalm 61:5-8 (JDV)

Psalm 61:5 God, you have heard my vows; you have given a heritage to those who fear your name.
Psalm 61:6 Add days to the king’s life; may his years span many generations.
Psalm 61:7 May he sit enthroned before God permanently. Appoint covenant faithfulness and truth to guard him.
Psalm 61:8 Then I will continually sing of your name, fulfilling my vows day by day.

many generations

I often wonder about my brother Gary, who died when he was 16 of a motorcycle accident.  It could have been me. Instead, I have enjoyed a long life, comparatively. But I am not ready for bedtime yet. Like David, I ask the Lord for along life. I want my years to span many generations. I look in the eyes of my newest granddaughter, and I look forward to dancing at her wedding. Life is good, and long life is better.

I know life is not permanent … at least not yet. But a long life lived devoted to God and enjoying his blessings is a hint of the future restoration. That is a good thing.

Lord, thank you for life. Give us more!

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from the ends of the land

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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from the ends of the land

Psalm 61:1-4 (JDV)

Psalm 61:1 God, listen to my cry; pay attention to my prayer.
Psalm 61:2 I am calling to you from the ends of the land when my heart is without strength. Lead me to a rock that is high above me,
Psalm 61:3 because you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy.
Psalm 61:4 I will dwell in your tent permanently and take refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah.

from the ends of the land

David called on God when he was at the ends of the land. He had gone as far as he could go on his own strength, and he was still not safe. He needed to go higher. He knew he had a permanent dwelling with God in the future, safely protected under the shelter of God’s wings. But in the present, he had a long way to go.

You and I have a long way to go as well. We can be grateful for what God has done for us, and look forward to our eternal life with him when Christ returns, but we are still going to have to regularly come to him, spent and afraid, and trust him for protection and rescue.

Lord, we have gone to our end, and we still need to go further. Help.

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performance enhancement

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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performance enhancement

Psalm 60:9-12 (JDV)

Psalm 60:9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
Psalm 60:10 God, haven’t you rejected us? God, you do not march out with our armies.
Psalm 60:11 Give us aid against the adversary, because human help is worthless.
Psalm 60:12 With God we will perform valiantly; he will trample our foes.

performance enhancement

Occasionally we see news reports of athletes or bodybuilders who are no longer allowed to compete because they have been found to use performance enhancing drugs.

The psalmist here actually pleads for an edge that goes beyond what he and his nation could do in the flesh. He wants performance enhancement from God. With God they can accomplish their mission; without him their armies are doomed.

The same is true with our mission to disciple the nations. That is why the Lord told his church to stay put in Jerusalem until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. That performance enhancement came on Pentecost, and it makes all the difference.

Lord, thank you for the power you have given us for doing your mission.

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washbasin and sandal

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

washbasin and sandal

Psalm 60:6-8 (JDV)

Psalm 60:6 God has spoken in his sanctuary: “I will celebrate! I will divide up Shechem. I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.
Psalm 60:7 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter.
Psalm 60:8 Moab is my washbasin. I throw my sandal on Edom; I shout in triumph over Philistia.”

washbasin and sandal

In this psalm, God celebrates the victory of his people over the nations they will conquer for him.

Our mission as Christians is not to conquer nations in this way, but to lead them to the Savior. But the same kind of thing is going on in God’s sanctuary as we speak. He has already claimed those nations that he sends us to. They are his washbasin, he claims ownership and authority over them by throwing his sandal on them.

When I was sent to the mission field, I had no doubt that lives would be changed as a result of my ministry, and that the kingdom of God would advance. It had nothing toi do with confidence in my ability. It had everything to do with my being sent by a sovereign God, who had already claimed the territory he sent me to.

Lord, thank you for knowing that you have already claimed those for yourself that you send us to.

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