Psalm 42

Psa 42:1
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.
Psa 42:2
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
Psa 42:3
My tears have been my food day and night, While {they} say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
Psa 42:4
These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng {and} lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
Psa 42:5
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And {why} have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him {For} the help of His presence.
Psa 42:6
O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Psa 42:7
Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
Psa 42:8
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.
Psa 42:9
I will say to God my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"
Psa 42:10
As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
Psa 42:11
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

I desire to seek the Lord as the author of this Psalm... "thirsting" for God. He has seen me through thick and thin. I admit, there were definitely times when we felt lost, alone, and wondering "Where is God?" Especially when we found ourselves deep within a dream that we thought was obedience, but really wasn't our calling. We must always remember that it is our journies that shape us.

We sang this as a hymn in church yesterday. This Psalm speaks to me, reassures me, and is one that I sing with much heartfelt gratitude towards the Lord.

Psalm 21

Psa 21:1
O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice!
Psa 21:2
You have given him his heart's desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
Psa 21:3
For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
Psa 21:4
He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever.
Psa 21:5
His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him.
Psa 21:6
For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.
Psa 21:7
For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
Psa 21:8
Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
Psa 21:9
You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The LORD will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them.
Psa 21:10
Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.
Psa 21:11
Though they intended evil against You {And} devised a plot, They will not succeed.
Psa 21:12
For You will make them turn their back; You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces.
Psa 21:13
Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; We will sing and praise Your power.

I choose to focus on the opening theme of this passage... God's great strength. So often we put our trust in that which is other than our God. My studies in 1 Samuel remind me that we are to put our full trust in God, not so much in the blessings that he has provided. God is my strength. Sometimes I forget about the source of my strength. I must press on in overcoming this.

Powerful God, you are the strength of my life. I praise you for the blessings you have bestowed upon me. Please give me strength and dedication to always trust you first and rejoice because of our relationship . Although I rejoice as a reaction to your blessings, I must praise you first and foremost simply for your love. Amen.