Desperately Dependent

This morning at church, a group from Maranatha came for our morning service. I can't even begin to tell you how it blessed me. They sang several songs and each one of them was one of my favorites. God really used these songs to open my heart and prepare it for the preaching of His Word. Then, a student at MBBC, Nick Peterson, preached. That message was just what I needed to hear. He used the whole passage of Psalm 63.

1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

10 They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.

11 But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

He went on to talk about how we are dependent upon God...or at least we should be. In this passage, Nick talked about our dependent relationship with God should be desperate, it is protective, and we should be thankful. In this passage, we see that that in verse 1, David says that his soul thirsteth and his flesh longeth for God. It made me think, do I REALLY long for God? Does my soul really thirst for what His Word says and for Him? I can't honestly say that I do. To think about how thirsty I am after being hot or something and that is how thirsty I should be for God and learning more about Him. My soul should just LONG for him. Wow...what a rebuke. Then to talk of how God protects us. How His right hand upholds us and we are in the shadow of His wings...to feel that protected. He used the illustration of being afraid of monsters under his bed and how they were there when he was lone in his room...but in his parents room, they all disappeared. I remember how those big bad thunderstorms that always happened when I was younger, they weren't so bad in my parent's room. God is that protective of us. As our Father, He protects us and keeps us from the harm that's out there. We can have shelter while we're going through the trials He has allowed us to go through. He is our Abba Father, and is our help in time of need. Wow...it's so wonderful to sit back and think of God as a true Father to us. And lastly, to talk of how we should be thankful. In verses 3, 5, 7, and 11 it talks of how we should praise Him and thank Him for what He does. I don't thank God nearly enough. He has truly done so much for me that no amount of thanks could ever repay Him. But, I try to! Thanking Him is something I try to do...but fail to do so often.

It's incredible to sit and think about God in His...awesomeness...shows us His love and protects us. It's mind boggling to think of His love and just how deep it is. My love for God is not even close to His love for me. With His help, I'm going to strive to truly love Him more with each passing day. The sang we closed the service with was "More Love to Thee" and I think that's one of my favorite songs now! I have so many! But really think of these words. I want my prayer to be, more love to Thee, o Christ!

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!