Dear Friends,
Grace and peace to you. I am grateful we are together on this journey. Today I stumbled upon these words from The Message in Psalm 63. This psalm is attributed to David when he was out in the Judean wilderness. I have wondered what I am missing because I am not finding stillness very easily.
If one goes out into the wilderness – maybe we are already there – what awaits? What do we find in stillness and contemplation that we won’t experience in busy and triggered and chaos and loud and overstimulated time?
God – you’re my God!
I can’t get enough of you!
I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.
2-4
So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.
5-8
I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It’s time to shout praises!
If I’m sleepless at midnight,
I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
Because you’ve always stood up for me,
I’m free to run and play.
I hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.
These were the words of David in the desert. A dry place became like a spring in his heart, in his spirit, in his whole being. He recognizes his hunger and thirst out in the desert. He offers that this places causes him to see who God truly is. He has found worship and lifts praises drinking God in with each breath he takes. Sleeplessness leads not to tiredness but to grateful reflection for the One who upholds him, stood up for him, and who remains always stead, strong, true.
Maybe we need deserts, to find ourselves deserted in some way, to truly connect with God. Does it take “desert” to get Sabbath? Maybe. Intentional time away from people is something Jesus modeled for us. I usually think of desert as a way to say “it’s wild out here” or “we are wandering” or “life is hard.” And yet, David finds so much that is uplifting in his words here, so much that is restorative, a desert experience might be just what God is calling us to. Could it be that God is giving us permission to have the whole desert experience?
From Celtic Daily Light, one of my go to’s, hear this:
In Wales and Ireland there are still as many as five hundred place names (for example Dysart or Disserth) that recall a place where some believer, inspired by the Desert Christians, made the desert of the heart their own. In the Channel Isles there is still a place named, simply, Egypt. Today people create desert places of their own, and ‘desert days’ in their homes. Solitude is an essential part of the foundation of any civilization that is to last.
Still is the earth;
Make still my body.
Still is the night;
Make still my mind.
Still are the spheres;
Make still my soul.
I feel like a broken record saying: take your Sabbath and keep it holy. I struggle with this, too, in all honesty. But I recommit myself to it weekly, daily. I want you to hear this: you are enough. Doing more does not equal “better.” When it is time to “do” then do well, 100% for that hour of doing. And when it is time to rest, rest completely, even if for an hour at a time.
We are together on this journey. May you find yourself ready to “smack your lips!” and giving praise to God for all that we encounter and find of God’s goodness in this life together.
I look forward to being with our clergy on 2/16 at Grace UMC: Wilmington. May the peace of Christ be with you.
