5 Minute Read
Today’s Bible Reading:
1 Kings 3:3–4:34
Acts 6:1-15
Psalm 126:1-6
Proverbs 16:26-27
Today’s Bible Verse(s):
Psalm 126:3 (NLT): “Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!”
Reflections on Today’s Bible Verse(s):
There are times in my life when the Heavens seem like they are locked tight with iron doors. I read God’s Word and don’t sense that God is near. I pray and don’t sense that God is listening. In fact, God seems a million miles away.
While the verse I have chosen for today is written as a past reality, it was once a present reality. There was once a time in the Psalmist’s mind, and experience that God was doing great things for him and his people, and they were joyful.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Psalmist was living in the past as he wrote Psalm 126. God was so “real” in the past but not so much in the present. He had done great things in the past, but not much was happening as he wrote this Psalm.
In fact, in the very next verse, the Psalmist calls his present condition a “desert” (Psalm 126:4). God was alive and well, but the Psalmist just wasn’t experiencing God’s blessings or the corresponding joys.
Psalm 126:4 (NLT): “Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert.”
Have you ever felt that way? I bet you have. I certainly have. God seems like a million miles away. We might remember some things He did for us long ago, but it seems like a distant memory.
How can we get back into the experience of God’s blessings? Let me provide two points to ponder:
- Sometimes, we are not experiencing God’s presence and blessings because of our own sin. In those cases, we need to hop down onto our knees, confess our sin(s) to the Lord, despise them so much that we repent (turn our back on them), and receive God’s forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
- Sometimes, God intentionally goes quiet for a while. It’s not necessarily because of sin on our part. He just allows us to experience the loneliness of the desert for a period of time. He has His own purposes for doing this.
While we almost certainly will not experience an unbroken fellowship with God while in this life, it should be the general experience for us to enjoy His presence and receive His blessings (in whatever form they take). If it’s been a while since we’ve seen God move in our lives, we need to investigate to see what needs to be righted so that we can get back into fellowship with Him.
Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com). His latest book is God’s Grace in the Real World. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Matt’s Musings 