Monday Reflection \u2013 November 08, 2021
Meditating on and Praising God<\/p>\n\n\n
God, I think of you on my bed,\u00a0and meditate on you in the watches of the night. Psalm 63:6<\/p>\n\n\n
Psalm\u00a063 was written while David was on the run\u00a0in the wilderness of Judah.\u00a0Whether it was David\u2019s wilderness years before he came to the throne of Israel, or to his brief exile from the throne due to the rebellion of his son Absalom, or the wilderness years when hunted by King Saul\u00a0one is not sure. What is certain is that David is on the run, moving from place to place like a fugitive. He begins Psalm 63 by expressing his thirst for God. David\u2019s soul demanded to be satisfied\u00a0early\u00a0in the day.\u00a0\u2018Early\u2019 has the sense of early in the morning, but also of eagerness\u00a0and immediacy. His longing for God is for the here and now. Through this thirst, David is also proclaiming\u00a0his allegiance to\u00a0God. He could have sought satisfaction elsewhere, but he knew fully well that only God truly satisfies.<\/p>\n\n\n
Another significant element that David speaks of is the greatness of God\u2019s love. Such love stirs David to praise\u00a0God.\u00a0David is motivated to pursue God\u00a0because of God\u2019s lovingkindness. The lovingkindness\u00a0of God was\u00a0better, more meaningful to David, than\u00a0life\u00a0itself. This means that David knew and experienced something of God\u2019s\u00a0lovingkindness\u00a0that\u00a0gave him comfort and assurance. It\u2019s amazing where people go to quench their thirst and fulfill their yearnings; concerning where people go to for comfort and assurance. Many turn to the things of the world and people for this. Some soon realize that these may only offer temporary satisfaction, if any at all. People regard life as natural, but\u00a0David regarded God\u2019s great love as natural.\u00a0People enjoy life, but David enjoyed God\u2019s great love.\u00a0People value life, but\u00a0David valued God\u2019s great love.\u00a0People are in despair without the sense of life, but\u00a0David was in despair without the sense of God\u2019s great love.<\/p>\n\n\n
In today\u2019s Watchword, David believes that there are not enough hours in the day to think upon God\u2019s greatness and goodness. Therefore,\u00a0he also used the\u00a0night watches\u00a0to\u00a0meditate\u00a0upon God.\u00a0Watches of the night stresses the slow progress of the hours.\u00a0I imagine that since David was on the run, he could not allow himself to fall into deep sleep, or sleep any at all, lest his enemies find him. Thus, he utilized his time reflecting on God\u2019s goodness in the past and craving for God so He can rescue and deliver him. No doubt, solitude and stillness render the watches of the night a suitable time for meditation on the mercies of God.<\/p>\n\n\n
What do we do with our time? How much of our time do we spend meditating on God? How much time is reserved for reflecting on God\u2019s love, mercies and grace? I imagine that most, if not all, of us have had nights where we cannot sleep. Perhaps sleep just can\u2019t come, or we are troubled to the extent that sleep is hard to come. We may have so much on our minds that sleep becomes a stranger. What do we do in these times? I challenge us to use these times to meditate on God and commune with Him. May these times serve to develop a yearning for God. I pray we will find time to reflect on God and all of God\u2019s lovingkindness to us, and offer our wholehearted praise and adoration as we sing of His goodness.<\/p>\n\n\n
Jermaine Gibson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monday Reflection \u2013 November 08, 2021 Meditating on and Praising God God, I think of you on my bed,\u00a0and meditate on you in the watches of the night. Psalm 63:6 Psalm\u00a063 was written while David was on the run\u00a0in the wilderness of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","watchword_topic":[13],"class_list":["post-673","watchword","type-watchword","status-publish","hentry","watchword_topic-christian-living"],"yoast_head":"\n