I have been going to Courthouse Coffee lately to read. I have beeing reading straight through The Message as I would read any other book, just because I have never done it quite that way before. Anyway, It has the psalms in the back of it, and I took a break from Luke and checked out what David had to say.
David was brutally honest in his writing. I wonder if he knew when he wrote it, that it would be used for the rest of humanity to see? I wonder if he knew that intimate passionate crying out to God would be read by millions, memorized, dissected, spoken about. Such honesty is inspiring. I guess, the truth is that God already knows what you are thinking anyway, but sometimes it doesn’t become “real” until you actually verbalize it.
I like Ps 6. “Please God, no more yelling. No more trips to the woodshed. Treat me nice for a change. I am so starved for affection. Can’t you see I am black and blue, beat up badly in bones and soul?” Somedays I really feel like that. The other thing I love about David is that he asks God stuff that I often wonder about. Stuff like “how long are you going to allow this or that to happen” or “aren’t you fed up with their pride?”
He demands answers by his questions. “Why do you do this God?” he says. “Where are you?” But no matter how crappy he is feeling, the cool thing is that at the end, he always says something like “God is awesome, praise Him” or “yet I still trust in God.”
I look at our society and wonder what God must think of us. All the stuff that goes on. The wickedness. The evil. The vile imaginations of men’s hearts. God, we are depraved. Without you we are pointless and hollow. Why you allow us to continue down this path of self-destruction is beyond me. Despite all of that, you continue to love your children. Despite our failings and apathy, you forgive again and again. Thank you Lord.
In our entertainment, we try to reach for the noble by showing people doing good things, and we desperately hope that it will be enough. I was watching Touched by an Angel one day, and even though I think that is one of the best shows on TV, it is still not quite true.They have a worldview that says God loves everyone (true). God put you here for a purpose (true). But what they never say is that there is only one way to God, through the person of Jesus Christ. They are so close to the truth. And I guess that is as close as they will get. The deceiver has them all fooled. Satan is so good at what he does. It seems like there are two extremes with Satan. Either something is totally nasty and perverse (like a disgusting movie like Freddy Got Fingered) or it is something that seems so good and gives you warm fuzzies and makes you not think whether or not it is true (Touched by an Angel, for example).
It always makes me sad to see the desperate strivings of someone who has no hope. Because no matter what the world has to offer, Hollywood is just a fantasy. Drugs only last so long. You always have to end the dream somehwre and wake up and face truth. Because ultimately, that is all there is.There is only one truth that exists, and that is Jesus Christ.
This is the air I breathe. Your holy presence, living in me. This is my daily bread. Your very word, spoken through me. And I am desperate for you. I am lost without you.