...without Cable TV...my weekly watching of "24" and "Dancing with the Stars"...without my cell phone..."I've got to have my morning coffee; what would I do without my morning coffee!"
We've all said these kind of things...we all "need" our coffee, our internet; our Oprah; our newspaper, our afternoon listening to Lionel Richie and organic hemp hot chocolate (okay, maybe that's just me on that last one)...we "can't" make it without these "life supports", right! I wonder if we feel the same way about Jesus and His eternal word?
Do we ever catch ourselves saying, "Man, I can't make it today without praying through the Psalms" or "Man, I can't make it today without reading Mark 14:1-11; I have GOT TO find out what Jeremiah says today?" Do we "crave" Jesus and His word?
David did. He prayed in Psalm 27:8, "My heart has heard You say, “Come and talk with Me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming. (NLT)” He says in Psalm 63:1,"God—You're my God! I can't get enough of You! I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God (MSG)." Again, Psalm 119:131 says, "I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commands."
I know some of us have sprinted home, busted the door open, thrown our bags down, looked recklessly for the TV control (because we can never find it right), and turned on "American Idol" because our favorite performer was about to sing! I can see us now: bent over, hands on our knees, mouth wide open, panting for breath, but with huge excitement, because we got there in time to see what Simon says about our favorite singer!
That's what Psalm 119:131 is a picture of...the Psalmist...mouth wide open, panting for God's word...wanting the Lord and His word more than anything else. We see the sons of Korah doing the same thing in the famous Psalm 42:1, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" When was the last time you wanted to "meet" with God so badly that you "thirsted" for Him like a Holiday Gingerbread Latte from Starbucks?
In Mark 2, so many people thirsted for Jesus and His word, 4 guys had serious trouble getting their paralyzed friend into see and hear Him. His friends had to "bust the roof open" to get him to Jesus. Some of us would "bust the roof open" if we couldn't get into our email or find our chapstick (okay, maybe just me again)! These guys said, "Man...I don't know what we're gonna do if we don't get our buddy to Jesus!"
If we go tonight without Grey's Atanomy, what are we gonna do!!! If I don't have my organic agave nectar chocolate ganashe today, what am I gonna do!!! Will we care that much about spending intentional sit down time with Jesus and His word today and this week? Will we "bust the roof" open if we have to in order to see the face of our Savior through the pages of Scripture? It's saying this: I will do whatever I have to do in order to "meet" with God...no matter what my schedule is! Can you and I do without Jesus and His word? "Man, I don't know what I would do without ___________." Does "Jesus and His word" fill in the blank for you?
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69) (NIV)
