April 15, 2016
Psalm 84
The heart of a person who loves God.
Their soul yearns, even faints, to be in worship for God. They just love to be at the place where they are in the presence of God. They want to know the presence of God in their life. Not just his blessings, not his healing (our earlier reading of the 10 healed lepers) not his comfort, not his gifts, but God himself.
The person who realizes that God alone is their strength, they are the blessed person. The person who says, "The most important hour of my day is being in God's presence with praise and thanksgiving."
The Valley of Baca is a place of weeping (mention of lots of water). Blessed is the person who comes through the time of weeping and recognizes that God was in that valley, and He was their strength. He was the one whom they leaned on in the midst of their tears. That person even says suffering produced something good, it caused them to lean solely on the Lord. This person has a totally different mindset in the storm. They realize that the storm led them to a place of deeper faith and spiritual strength.
In athletic terms, this is a new football team being put through "hell week." A coach many times pushes his team beyond what they ever thought they could endure. The demands are high, seemingly impossible. The athlete thinks to himself, this coach is crazy with what he is asking us to do. But when "hell week" is over, and the athlete is now prepared for the competition; the team appreciates the coach in a much deeper way.
Father, I thank you for the difficult places of training you have put me through. I have found that though these times are filled with tears and darkness, they have produced incredible training in my life. So, I want to express thanksgiving even for the hard times. I also want to say, "I trust you Lord." I know that you are my coach, and you are preparing me for the future. I cannot see the future, only you can. So Lord, whatever is necessary for me to grow and prepare for the future, I welcome it into my life. Help me to learn to lean on you every day.
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