If, like me, you are a Canadian, this is the weekend to eat too much turkey and stuffing, gather with family and friends, and give thanks.
Giving thanks is all about taking note of the blessings we have, rather than wishing for something new. It is about recognizing the abundance in life. It is about being giving thanks in all things, in every circumstance (1 Thessalonians 5:18) … but you can read more about that tomorrow (Sunday) at http://www.itsawonderfilledlife.net .
This week, it was, by far, Giving Birth, that was the most viewed post. A post that I wrote about my son … but I think it was most viewed because the experience of giving birth as a life-long experience is shared by most moms (and maybe even a dad or two).
There are times … years, seasons, days when we understand the Psalmist who wrote, Psalm 42. A Psalm most familiar for:
“as the deer pants for water, so my soul longs for you.” (v.1)
It is such a lovely verse … a hopeful verse, a verse stitched on pillows on printed on mugs, and displayed creatively on Pinterest.
But, Psalm 42 is not simply a beautiful and peaceful Psalm. It is also a heart-cry from the Psalmist, to the living God who brought blessing, in the past. It is a cry for ‘the good ‘ol days’ that have been replaced by sorrow, loneliness, mourning, oppression … a downcast spirit.
It is the pouring out of the sorrows of the Psalmist’s soul, and his reminders to his soul, to “put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
What a good example that, not matter what is going on around us, or in us, our soul can be satisfied by the hope of God … and even in those not so great days, we can praise him, our Savior and our God!
“I have lost my appetite And a flood is welling up behind my eyes So I eat the tears I cry And if that were not enough They know just the words to cut and tear and prod When they ask me “Whereʼs your God?”
Why are you downcast, oh my soul? Why so disturbed within me? I can remember when you showed your face to me
As a deer pants for water, so my soul thirsts for you And when I survey Your splendor, You so faithfully renew Like a bed of rest for my fainting flesh
When Iʼm looking at the ground Itʼs an inbred feedback loop that drags me down So itʼs time to lift my brow And remember better days When I loved to worship you and learn your ways Singing sweetest songs of praise
Let my sighs give way to songs that sing about your faithfulness Let my pain reveal your glory as my only real rest Let my losses show me all I truly have is you
So when Iʼm drowning out at sea And all your breakers and your waves crash down on me Iʼll recall your safety scheme Youʼre the one who made the waves And your Son went out to suffer in my place And to show me that Iʼm safe
Why am I down? Why so disturbed? I am satisfied in you”
itsawonderfilledlife 