What does your heart long for? Peace, joy, love, rest, everyone to get along, solace, certainty, truth, or just to belong? The Psalmist describes what his heart longs for so beautifully in Psalms 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for water, so my soul longs for you Oh Lord! My soul thirsts for the living God, when can I go and meet with God?” What vulnerability in the face of the enemy. Many times, it is challenging for us to open our heart in humility, and yet we hear the clarity and depth of the worshiper’s plea. He is not afraid of what others think about him, but much more concerned that his heart is in union with God because this is what he longs for. Just as animals pant desperately for water, the worshiper’s soul will not find rest until he is one with his Lord. The psalmist knows that the Lord is the only one who can save him from his distress. The enemy is attacking on all sides, and he is pressed in; yet he remembers that his hope is in God alone and praise is the only way out and up.

Whether the Levite feels like praising the Lord or not, he is faithfully reorienting his disquieted soul back to the Lord, a warrior mighty to save. As we praise God faithfully from our deepest need, we are reminded of and surrounded in Jesus’ love for us. The Spirit offers us the quenching thirst of a singing soul, a true sacrifice of praise to God, our Rock and Redeemer, our help in times of trouble. When we feel forgotten, overwhelmed with life, or struggle with our emotions, we form internal doubts about God’s faithfulness that cuts right to the heart and begins to take root. When we do not fill our heart’s longing with life, breath of Spirit, the quenching thirst of Jesus, we feel no hope and see no way out. While we wait for God’s saving presence from our current plight, we are called to fully participate in the procession of worship both personally and communally. This surges the heart with hope, fidelity, and remembrance of God’s faithfulness from ages past to present reality. For God has done great and mighty things and holy is his name!

As my daughter prepares to serve the Lord, she often asks, “Mama how do you do it, how do you move so gracefully through the distress, both personally and ministerially? The answer is simple: I do not, but my deep longing to know and respond to Jesus, through it all, is the key, and the Holy Spirit does the work in and through me. However, there are some simple and practical tools that the Lord has shown me through the years that everyone can faithfully respond too. I will share two. The first tool is fidelity pauses throughout the day. It is vital to growing deep in Christ and becoming his true disciple. These faithful pauses create openings to humble ourselves and give Jesus full access to our heart. In other words, it becomes a normative way of life, and in fact, our disposition of the heart. God has created us in his image and knows our deepest longing. When you hear the Holy Spirit, you must respond quickly to his soundings. Second, these faithful pauses allow the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with an offering of praise. We do not need to spend our time contemplating why, how, and when.  It is in our best interest to trust in the sacred pledge of the Lord that he always knows best. For this reason, we bow before our maker to rest in his promise to us, that all will be well. We do not need a reason to praise the Lord because it is a commandment in all things. Just like the worshiper, this alone is what glorifies God when out of our deepest heart’s longing, darkest moments of despair, uncertainty, pain, and much more that we take the pause to praise and highly appreciate all the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are infusing within our being. This pause for praise affords us the opportunity for four things: to observe the beauty of Jesus for who he is, to know that our current situation is only for a season, trust that God is working on our behalf, and most importantly, rejoice that the Holy Spirit is refining our character to become more like him.

Reflection:

• How could you create fidelity pauses throughout the day?
• How could you begin to offer praise to the Lord through these pauses?

Dear Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, give us the saving grace of joyful living. We cannot gain this on our own. Thank you for creating pauses throughout our day so that we might praise your unending hymn and long for your living water to quench our thirst. May we marvel in the sweetness of your holy presence forevermore!

 In Jesus name, Amen!

Blessings

Dr. Caroline