Like a Drink of Cool Water

Psalm 17:15
“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”

I read this today and started thinking. Does this really reflect my attitude? I know it is true that I will be satisfied when I awake in His likeness. After all, the goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is what it is all about. I know this. I want this. Truly I do.

But. Do I live like I want this, like I believe this, like I love Him more than life itself everyday in every way. Sadly, I find that I am far too easily distracted and I settle for so much less.

I saw something in me over the past week when I was feeling so crummy that I really did not like. When feeling crummy, I was very self absorbed. Prayer was not number one on my list of joys. In fact, I found that missing church two weeks in a row really did a number on me. There is a reason we are commanded to not forsake the gathering with other believers. We need that community of faith to encourage us to worship and to spur us on to good works. I went back to choir on Wednesday night and as our music pastor led us in prayer I was overwhelmed by this joy to be back. I really enjoyed that rehearsal Wednesday. It was worship, and I had missed it so much.

And my little excursion into Facebook land has got me thinking, too. It’s just too blasted easy to get distracted by things that don’t matter. I’m not saying I’m not enjoying reconnecting with my past. I am enjoying it. But it also brings back memories of a me that I am glad I am not anymore. I’ve come a long way from the me I was to the me I am now, and I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t go back. Things have been pruned that needed pruning.

What I am finding now that I’m feeling better again is that I really want to lay aside the weights that so easily entangle and press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I want to be holy for He is holy. I want to see Him, savor Him, enjoy Him and worship Him in a way I have never done before.

I’m giving a little shout out to my blog friend, Elle. She introduced me to a book on her blog that she is reading this summer, and I just received my copy and started reading it. It is Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual by Nancy Guthrie. It’s a study through the book of Hebrews. As I read the introduction today, it was like a drink of cool water to a parched tongue, and tears flowed as she described how I've been feeling lately to a T and I prayed, "This is what I've been looking for." And having recently experienced extreme dehydration during my virus, I am newly sensitive to the benefits of cool water on a parched tongue. I am so looking forward to digging into the book of Hebrews, one of my favorite books of the Bible already, and learning to see Jesus in all His significance and beauty, to remind myself again what an awesome Savior and Lord He is. My appetite is whetted, and I’m ready for some meat. Thank you, Elle, for sharing what you’re studying on your blog. I am benefitting from it, and it comes at just the moment I needed a fresh reawakening of my passion for Jesus.