What's Missing in Your Life?

Do you have a dream that continues to tug at your heart? God's Word tells us in Proverbs 13:12 that a "hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Do you sometimes feel that unsettling feeling as if something is missing but you can't quite put your finger on what it is? Let's learn from someone in the Bible who carried a longing in his heart to gain some insight for our own lives as to what is missing. 1. Psalms 42:1 reads, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." Realize, however, that what David longed for was not some mystical union with God. Several verses down, he says in verse 4, "These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng." We can talk all we want about relationship but relationship is often accompanied by activity. David was feeling displaced. What he wanted to experience was God's active involvement in his life where he could visibly see the success of his efforts. 2. Psalms 69:2-3 reads: I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. NIV Observe that all David was seeing was an avalanche of problems descending on him. What he longed for was a deliverer. He said, "My eyes fail, looking for my God." What will fill his soul would be visible evidence of God's intervention. He didn't want a promise. He wanted the fulfillment of a promise. 3. Psalm 143:7-11 reads: Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. When God is silent, we feel He is distant. When we have been waiting a long time, we want God to "answer me quickly" because we just don't know how much longer we can last. We go to bed every night hoping the morning will be different. We wait for God to break onto the scene. We live in the fairy tale of a princess waiting for her Prince Charming to come riding in on his snow white horse. We are disappointed when morning comes and nothing changes. David was in the same place. Oh Faithful One, we can talk ourselves into feeling better but the reality is, we will only be better when our deliverance comes. Did you know that we serve a practical God? God tells us in His Word how the tide will change. The tide will change when the following happens. Therefore, let us pray for it specifically. 4. Psalm 143: 11-12 reads: For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant. NIV Prayer: Father, I am your servant. Therefore, for your name's sake, I ask you to preserve my life. In your righteousness, I ask you to bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, I ask you to silence my enemy. I trust that for those who honor you, you will honor and you will not tolerate having your servant ridiculed or laughed at in their obedience to your royal marching orders. 5. Ps 17:14 reads: You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. Prayer: Father, I trust in your lavish love for me and for those I shepherd. I ask you to still the hunger the stirring within me and to fulfill the dreams you planted in my heart. I ask you to provide for my children and for those I shepherd. I trust you are a God of abundance and generosity and I do not ask as a pauper but as one of royal lineage. I ask you to provide for my children in a way that is characteristic of the lavish and generous God that you are. 6. Psalms 40:20-3 reads: He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Prayer: Father, thank you for being my deliverer. No matter what unravels in my life, thank you for setting my feet on solid ground. Thank you for being my lifeline and for giving me a purpose that transcends the artificial frameworks around me. Thank you for giving me a new song when the old lyrics are gone. Thank you for giving me new reasons to praise you. David experienced the longing in a heart when hope is deferred. However, in the latter set of verses, he also showed us what we can pray for and expect from God. Now we have a choice. We can either drown in our cir****tances or we can pray specifically and persevere until we see our deliverance. If God did it for David, He can do it for you.

Wow! That was awesome! Thank you. I prayed the prayers and will keep it up. Thank you, Patty