Focus and Passion

I recently read Psalm 143:5-9 again. It's amazing how new things just jump out at me as I read through this Psalm!

This most recent read showed me something about myself - I focus on stuff instead of God so often.

In this Psalm, David is crying out as a result of feeling pressed down and crushed by his enemies and the course of his life. But, as crushing as it is, he turns his face to the Lord and focuses on Him!

In verse five he talks about the ways he remembers the works of God. In verse six, he talks about his extreme longing for God.

In verses seven and eight, he pleads for the relationship. He longs for just a word of guidance from his God - from the One who grants his very life.

It isn't until verse nine that he comes around to a specific request - deliverance from his enemies.

So often when I am approaching God, I have a list of requests that I just have to bring before Him. I focus on how messed up things are and then, in passing, remember that He's done something about such things in the past - maybe He'll do it again.

What I should be focusing on is what He has done. Period. I shouldn't be focusing on what's wrong. I should not be focusing on what needs to be fixed. I should be focusing on His works and His deeds - the ways He has shown Himself in the past. I should be clinging to the fact that He is the same God today as He was then, whether "then" was yesterday or 3000 years ago.

Because I focus on my list of complaints instead of on Him, I don't long for Him as David did. Instead, I long for His action. I want to see Him solve problems. My focus is on the solution, not the relationship.

David wanted to see relief from his oppression. He wanted to see freedom from his enemies. But, more than that he wanted the relationship with the Lord.

I want to be more like that. May my focus not be on my problems and my passion be for Him to solve them. Instead, may my focus be on the works of the Lord and my passion be for the relationship with Him!