Monday 21 Mar 2022

March 21: Psalm 42:1-3

Key Verse: Psalm 42:3
My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’

Devotion:
Maybe you know the words of the first verse as a worship song from the late 80’s or early 90’s. I can recall worship leaders in the late 90’s singing these words and even singing it in youth clubs a few decades ago – but the words in the rest of this Psalm are just as important when we start to look at what they mean.

Whilst these words may make you think of beautiful scenes of deer drinking from the waters edge, I come from a country where the buck would have to walk a long way to reach water at a watering hole because the rivers were not much good or too far away. The animals would walk for miles to get to the water and then have to be on a constant look-out for the predators which would be waiting for them to come there!

In our lives we may well see the watering hole as being a church or other group where we can gather – what we don’t think about is the evil one who is lurking close by to try and trap us before we get the water we need. No matter how much safety we see and how much goodness and righteousness we see, there will always be evil lurking in the wings.

We need to constantly look to God for our protection so we will not be ambushed by the evil one as we try to draw close to God. It is no coincidence the evil one will be lurking just when you think you may be getting close to safety. But, God is always willing and able to protect us when we ask Him to stay close to us. When we are willing to draw close to God and stick with Him, He is able to protect us and to guide us so we don’t get ambushed! Don’t be discouraged by someone lurking in the shadows and trying to tell you God cannot protect you – they don’t know God!

Points to Ponder:
Do you listen too much to the worldly chatter?

Will you listen closer to God and obey His guidance?