Unpacking Psalm 84:2

" My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." Psalm 84:2

Hello and Happy Thursday. :) Wow..Psalm 84:2 is such a powerful verse. It really speaks to me and I have to say, I feel these longings for the Lord. As I started to unpack the verse, Psalm 63:1 came to my mind. "My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water." This verse really hits the nail on the head with the world we live in today. Sometimes, I feel so bombarded by the evil and lack of love and respect for our God in the world today. I also brought in Psalm 65:4. "Blessed is the man You choose.." Jesus said in John 15:16 "You did not choose Me, but I chose you..."
Thank You God for choosing me! Thank You God for wiring me with those cravings for You!! Thank You God for filling me with Your Holy Spirit, so that when I read Your word, it speaks to me and guides me in this dry and thirsty land , where there is no water!!

In "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst, she points out the three ways the devil tries to lure us from desiring God. 1. Cravings for things of this world...food, sex, drugs.. 2. Lust of the eye: meeting our needs with material things..clothing, financial plans, vacation plans.. 3. Boasting: meeting our needs with significance outside the will of God...doing things because you know it will be observed by others, name dropping..

Of these 3 tricks of the devil, I have to say I fall for 2 and 3 the most. I have never really used food, sex, drugs or alcohol as a comfort. However, I have thought..oh I'm feeling down ..an then had the urge to go buy something to "make me feel better". I have also felt falsely better by how popular I was in the world or with my circle of friends or work colleagues. I was recently praying about my sin of desiring to be "liked" and afraid to show some of my friends my faith in Jesus for fear they would think I was "strange" and then I came across this verse in my morning reading: "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him (Jesus), but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." John 12:42-43

Ouch!! How often I like to think of the rulers and Pharisees in Jesus's time as evil..and I am no better!! I immediately confessed my sin and asked Jesus for forgiveness and help with this!!

My Prayer: Thank You God for putting that desire to crave You in me! Thank You for the people You have put in my life to awaken that desire in me. I pray for those today who are participating in this study by Proverbs 31 Ministries that we may all learn to crave You more. In Jesus' Name! Amen!