I USED TO
Today’s Reading: Psalms 42-44
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
Fleeing from King Saul, David and his men spent time among the caves around the oasis of Ein Gedi. They certainly would have appreciated the fresh water falling from the desert plateau above. There are several waterfalls of differing sizes that flow down to the Dead Sea nearby. Psalm 42:1 says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.”
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Psalm 44:1-2a
We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:
You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted…
“The good old days” may not have been so good after all! We have a tendency to exaggerate how good it was in days gone by. Psalm 44 reviews some bad days too. It is obvious that God’s long-term purposes include the good and the bad events of our lives. Today’s reading ends with a prayer; God will put the final period to the history book of our lives!
In the first two chapters of our Bible reading, Psalms 42 & 43, the same question is asked in each of these writings…”Why are you cast down, O my soul?” The words “cast down” were very familiar to the shepherd King David. When a sheep is on its back, it is unable to turn over and get up. It will lie there and eventually die unless someone helps it to turn over. We need a shepherd who cares about us, and in fact we have such a Shepherd. In both Psalms we find the life-saving answer to being “cast down.” It is “Hope in God!” An answer to the question, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” may be found in the previous verse, 42:4, “I USED TO GO…TO THE HOUSE OF GOD…” Worshiping together with others, along with the teaching of God’s Word by a caring shepherd pastor, will put us back on our feet; we’ll be able to feed on green pastures and drink from the still waters.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, my soul thirsts for You like a deer in the desert looking for water to drink. I hear “the noise of Your waterfalls.” I drink from Your Word and Your refreshing presence. I pray that I will be faithful to go to Your altar, “To God my exceeding joy” (43:4). Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I’m in church every Sunday. Some Sundays I’m asked to bring a message from God’s Word, but at my age, most Sundays I’m there to be blessed by the ministry of others. I’m no longer “cast down.” As both Psalms 42 and 43 tell me, I’m no longer “disquieted.” Life is sorted out. I’m content, and my spirit is calm and peaceful. The Apostle Paul writes, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some.” I’m reading from the New Testament, Hebrews 10:22-25. If for some reason I don’t get out to church, I’m conscious of an emptiness in my life that day.
Norma-Jean and I lived for 18 years on the farm and in the farmhouse where she was born. We kept sheep for many of those years. When it came time to sheer the sheep, I would help to turn the sheep over onto their backs (cast down). They resisted, of course, but I learned how to do it successfully. We sold the wool, but most of all we enjoyed the sheep. Norma-Jean was the true shepherd. She helped many as they were being born. Some of the little lambs she had to feed from a bottle. They knew her and she knew them by name. When she called them, they came running. I could call all day and they would ignore me! Like our Lord, she spent much time with the sheep and they knew her voice.
Yours for green pasture and still waters,
David
Another waterfall in the beautiful desert oasis of Ein Gedi.
Dear Lord God, help us up. No matter what lays behind, help us move forward with You. We pray that your will is done today all over the world, and especially in Canada as we prepare to vote. Put your favour on good and Godly men and women who will lead us in proper ways. In Jesus’s great name, amen
Yes, Rob! Agreeing with you in that prayer.
Yes Lord, help us up! When we are cast down May we remember that The Shepherd is near. Let us call on Him with all confidence .
Oh Lord teach us to walk with you daily so that we will know Your voice.
Pour Your Spirit afresh on us and revive us, oh Lord!
Amen Rob!! God’s blessings on you and all the saints, today!
Amen!
God bless you Rob! TY for your post! Your post lifts me up! I have been at odds with life lately, will post more, again, thanks Rob and thank You Lord for this prayer site and for all those who post……I find the posts very positive for me…thank you Lord in Jesus Name we Pray amen
Thank you Rob for that good prayer which I prayed. Amen!
Yes,”Put your favour on good and Godly men and women who will lead us in proper ways.”Thank you,Rob.I believe if enough of us pray (kinda like ‘advanced voting’)we can get God to change His will and put His followers in high office.Also,I take some comfort in:
“‘ Romans 13:1-7 New International Version (NIV)
13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”‘
Yall have a great day.
Like David’s personal words today. 🙂
Hi everyone. It is a beautiful sunny day in British Columbia today.
But… one thing is missing…. the 100word blog for today…. so… a little note to the
administrators…. can you fix it?
What a blessing the Psalms are… touches us in every level of our lives. “Hope Thou in God” is a good admonition for all of us… regardless of our circumstance.. God is with us… “Through it all!”
Today, I am remembering and celebrating my daughter’s birthday.,
She would be 50 today. July 26, 2019 marks the 10th Anniversary of her
passing. She was two months short of 40 at the time. The human loss is
always great… and there is always “an ache” in that ’empty spot’ in our hearts.. But we are encouraged by God’s Word, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”… so I join with any other blog members who may have lost a
precious loved one… knowing we have “in Christ…an inheritance….reserved
in heaven” for us… Blessings to all.
Happy Birthday in heaven to Pastor Samuel’s daughter. She will be celebrating there with Jesus! God bless you!
Samuel, if you keep the blog from today in your email and tomorrow you find you didn’t receive it (or it comes late), just scroll down to see link for “leave a reply”. In my case, when I do that, it takes me to the beginning of the most recent posting. Always leave the one Daily Blog in place & I believe you will always have the most recent one pop up. It works that way for me. Maybe your internet provider is blocking it somehow. Praying for our government and the USA too
We also had sheep on our farm and my Mother and older sister would sheer them;
Mother would spin the wool and knit wool stocking for us to wear in winter
Have a wonderful day every one
similar to my upbringing Irene, Dad and any extra men around would help sheer the sheep; and I would card the wool, spin it and then knit mitts for my family, here is a good chuckle….
my Mom taught me how to knit mitts, I was so excited, the first pair I knit the one mitt was about a size 20 and the other mitt was a very small size, I remember people laughed about the sizes BUT I was excited that I KNIT THE MITTS ALL ON MY OWN!
Later my Dad used them in the machine shed; he hung them on the wall and the big mitt held the big pliers and the small mitt held the small nails and screws…..again, people laughed about this BUT I WAS EXCITED BECAUSE I HAD KNIT THE MITTS……
I Iaugh about this alot, makes me remember my Dad….that is life and I thank God for this life…..blessings to all
thanks Sah for sharing your humorous mitt story