"...in a dry and weary land"

Psalm 63:1: "O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

This week, I have been reflecting on this verse because of the conviction it brings. When I first read this I felt ashamed. In many ways I have lost my first love, Jesus. Yet in other ways I seem to follow hard after Him. When did my life become this duality of followership?

"I shall seek YOU earnestly."
In a culture that is very self-absorbed, I have found myself no different. Although I am better than I was, I often seek to please myself over pleasing God. This morning would be a great example....I have my Bible Study sitting up on the kitchen counter, papers that have been left ungraded, and emails from students who are needing help. Yet, how did I spend the last 3 hours......? Watching Grey's Anatomy, following friends on Facebook, looking up recipes on Pinterest....generally being lazy. I do think it is good to have days every once and a while in which relaxation (aka laziness) is valuable, BUT that does not mean to push off the Holy Spirit when He whispers in my ear, "Come, spend time with Me." Ashamed! Convicted! I have been found out!

Lord, please help me EARNESTLY, WHOLE-HEARTILY seek you because I know that you can always be found. And when I find you, there you give me rest! Help me learn how to apply this in my life today!

"My soul thirsts for You."
To be honest, when I read this I was thinking things like: My soul thirsts for Starbucks, maybe a glass of wine....OH and a smoothie! Okay, I know that that is NOT what this passage is talking about, but I think about these earthy cravings I have and how my thirst for the Lord does not even compare. (Insert sad face here).

I remember a few summers ago when it was in the 80's during the "cool" of the evening. I was driving home from somewhere I had just HAD to pull into a gas station for water because I was SOOOO parched. This is a good reminder of how I should live EVERY DAY! I should need so desperately the LIFE and the "water" that only Jesus can provide so much so that I am WILLING to stop, pull my life over to the side of the road and have communion with my Lord. I pray that this will become the desire of my life.

"My flesh yearns for you."
Again, like above, this is not the first thing that I thought of when I thought about what my "flesh yearns" for. I thought of things like: being number one at work, striving to be the "best" friend, trying to be a better runner. etc. These things, when put in the proper place, are not bad. YET-- they should not be my number one desire for living. My number one desire for living should be to GLORIFY CHRIST IN ALL THAT I DO.

(I like [and dislike at the same time] that ALL means ALL...adding just a bit more conviction).

How do I live my life daily as to share Jesus with others? It is easy to say that people will know Him by my actions....yes, this is true, BUT how am I talking about Jesus (or am I talking about Him at all?).

I know that I talk a lot about my husband and my friends who are here on earth. Am I giving the same (if not MORE) talk time about Jesus?

(OUCH! More conviction!)

"...in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
I have to realize that this world is pale, empty and poor compared to knowing the Lord (as the song goes). It is TRUE! This earth is dry, weary, sad and offers no real HOPE, but I am thankful that I serve the GOD OF HOPE. I need to remember to seek Him first and seek Him earnestly. I need to thirst for Him because He is the only one who can quench my soul. I need to yearn for Him above the things of this world. And I need to remember that this world is dry and weary, but I serve and love a God who gives HOPE, LIFE, LOVE, and GRACE.

I pray you are blessed today as you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and are moved to put Him first in your life above all other things.

To God Be the Glory.