"Water in the Desert" March 7 Readings: Psalm 17, 35, 54, 63

 

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2022

This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but I have divided it so that we will spend half the year in the OT, and half the year in the NT. 

Bible Readings: Psalm 17, 35, 54, 63   

Background:   

These Psalms continue David's prayers for deliverance and victory against the enemies who surrounded him. In Psalm 35 we David call out for the power of God to overwhelm his opponents. We may not be comfortable with the force of David's prayer in the light of the later teachings of Jesus to love our enemies, but we must remember that the Bible teaches that when we serve God, we count on him for protection. He is the one who defeats our foes.

Daily Devotional: Water in the Desert 

A few years back I completed a marathon in the New Mexico desert, trudging over a mountain, through deep sand, and across the desert flats in searing heat. One thing I learned that day - walking in the desert creates a deep thirst. It didn't seem to matter how much water and Gatorade I drank, I was always craving more.

David spoke, in Psalm 63, of the thirst of a deer in the wilderness.

God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

In a dry and desolate land, a land without water, David experienced thirst. This world offers so many types of poison water; libations that look satisfying but do not quench the soul's thirst. Money. Pleasure. Entertainment. Selfish ambition and achievement. All present themselves as the satisfaction of the soul, but they do not provide what they promise.

This world is a desert, a spiritual wasteland. The best it offers is mirages that cannot slake the deep thirst of the human heart. If we seek contentment, joy, and life from this world we will be deeply disappointed.

But David knew where to go for the living water, the water of life. He eagerly sought God and thirsted for him. Not just his blessings or the good things he gives, but for God himself. His desire for God was so strong that his body actually felt faint!

God is the source of life and those who seek him will be satisfied. He is the one who meets our deepest needs and meets the deepest needs of the soul. 

Father, you are my life. All too often I forget that and seek the bitter water of this world or dive into the mirages that deceive. But you are life and hope and joy, and I seek you. 

 

Consider God's Word:

Do you seek the tainted waters of this world to satisfy your soul, or do you drink from the rivers of living water that flow from Christ?