Daily Devotionals
november 15, 2021
As the deer pants for streams of water,so my soul pants for you, my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.When can I go and meet with God?My tears have been my foodday and night,while people say to me all day long,“Where is your God?”These things I rememberas I pour out my soul:how I used to go to the house of Godunder the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praiseamong the festive throng.
Psalm 42
In a recent afternoon of prayer at church, we were asked to partner with a couple of others and express our own personal needs. As we spoke among ourselves, a member of my group expressed the desire simply to enjoy church again. This request resonated deeply within me as I reflected on the multitude of times in my own walk, even recently, when I have asked the same thing. As I look back, I am reminded of the times in worship when it felt like the presence of God was so thick in the room that I was filled with awe. And yet other times I felt that I was just going through the motions, as if on autopilot. Considering the tumultuous times of the past eighteen months and the roller coaster of emotions we all have experienced, I think it very likely that there are many among us with this same unspoken prayer. The Apostle Paul warns the Galatians about a weariness in well-doing. St. John of the Cross speaks of it in his poem, “Dark Night of the Soul.” Isaiah the prophet tells us that even the youth will grow weary and young men will stumble and fall. But if we will put our hope in the Lord, He will renew our strength. “Why, my soul, are you downcast?Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:5) Hope is the beautiful gift from God that gets us through our difficult times. Peter’s hope faltered on that dark night when Jesus was captured. It was then that Peter denied his relationship with the One he had called Messiah. Imagine with me the disappointment Peter felt in himself when at the rooster’s crow he recalled the conversation with Christ just a few hours earlier. But if I may be of some encouragement, perhaps the rooster wasn’t crowing just to remind Peter of his past failings. He was crowing to announce the dawning of a new day! Take courage, my friend. “Weeping may stay the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning!” (Psalm 30:5)
For Reflection
Can you recall a spiritual winter when the leaves were gone and you felt as if your growth was stunted?
Have you thought or prayed, “Lord, is there more of You to experience?”
Prayer
Father, may our roots grow deeply in Your word in the winters of our soul, and may the spring rains bring forth a harvest of righteousness, peace, and Joy! Amen.
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