By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying God’s Word Around The Globe”
Chapter Reading for Today: Please read in your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version, that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I will keep it with the New King James Version.
One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my own writing. I am adding red to the letters when it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 119:165
Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.
Psalm 100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Song: As The Deer Panteth For The Water By: Donnie McClurkin
Psalm 42
Longing For God
Have you ever felt just desperate for the Lord? Do you know what it is like to be completely drained of your own energy and strength and wonder why you are downcast? Sometimes we can be disturbed greatly without even understanding what’s bothering us. I had just such an experience this week and the Lord, as always, came to my rescue! Hallelujah! Come with me on this journey through Psalm 42 today and let’s discover together what the Lord will speak to us all. I can personally relate well to this Psalm this week, so as I share my testimony, perhaps the Lord will show you something that can set you free too. Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father;
Thank You for being there when we are at the end of our own ropes. Lord, when we come to the end of ourselves and our own efforts, that is where Your glory, strength and power begin to be revealed. The spirit in us calls out to Your Holy Spirit and we deeply desire Your Living Water to flow through us. Father, I ask You to show all of us who read this message exactly what we need to see. Use me as a witness and testimony of Your goodness and lovingkindness to Your children. Open our eyes, ears and hearts to receive a fresh infilling of Your Holy Spirit today. Father, cause Your message to go out unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my flesh. Thank You for causing Your word to be performed exactly for the purpose for which You sent it when we trust and obey You. Father, we will purpose in our hearts to be doers of Your Word and not forgetful hearers. Thank You in advance for all You will provide for us today and in the days to come in Jesus name. Amen.
In this chapter, we see the deep cry of the Psalmist as he speaks from the depth of his own soul. Did you know we should do that also – in faith? Isn’t that what the Psalmist did when he told his soul to bless the Lord in Psalm 103? Sometimes we have to speak to ourselves. It should be a positive self-talk. We need to tell ourselves (our souls) to hope and trust in the Lord just like the Psalmist did in today’s chapter. If we are sitting around letting our feelings do all the talking, or our emotions or circumstances when they are less than cheery, then we are in trouble. Positive self-talk is very important to the Christian. It does not mean we are insane. That “talking to oneself” has gotten a bad rap from the enemy. Yes, there are times when people are speaking out to themselves crazy things when they are overwhelmed by the enemy within them. That’s a different matter altogether.
Speaking the Word of God out loud in faith over ourselves is what we can call “working the Word” because we are agreeing with the Word of God for our lives. That is positive self-talk. When we do that in faith and call those things that be not as though they are, then we are on the path for victory and success. Today’s chapter shows a man who is downcast in his soul. He is troubled. He is crying a lot. He remembers the “good old days” he thinks, as he remembers the joyous times he was with the congregation and they were joyfully praising God. He may have “eaten” his tears more than his necessary food. Sounds like depression, doesn’t it?
To be downcast is to be sad. That’s what depression can do to a person. Deep sadness is just another word for being depressed. Sometimes we can be sad and crying and not even know why. Maybe things are going pretty good in our lives and we have great hope and expectation for the things the Lord is bringing to pass in our future, yet we suddenly find ourselves battling with this onslaught of tears.
I had such an experience this week. The point of me bringing this up is not to draw your attention to me, but rather to show you a living example of how I could relate to this Psalm today and how the Lord has helped me. Maybe it will help you. We see that the Psalmist told his soul to hope in the Lord. He knew where his help would come from. He deeply longed for God like our bodies would crave water to drink in the middle of a hot, dry desert. That is a desperate and great longing for something.
This particular week I had a lot going on. I run our household and manage the finances. I do the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and go to church twice a week. In addition to that, we are setting up a new ministry – hallelujah! Part of this ministry is the Bible Study that I send out every day, Monday through Friday. In addition to this study I send out a devotion for people who have struggled with addiction. This is a great blessing to my heart.
My husband and I are very excited about what the Lord will do in and through us and the ministry He is calling us to establish. I have to exercise most days of the week and eat a healthy, well balanced diet. Another joy I have is to care for our sweet little puppy. He requires a lot of love and attention, but he gives out far more than we invest in him. As you can see, like most people, we are very busy. My husband works a full time job in the marketplace and keeps long hours. We can both get pretty tired at the end of the day.
Most of you know what it is like to live a busy life while you are doing the Lord’s work. And you know that it can be very demanding on your flesh. That’s OK. Jesus never let His flesh tell Him what He was going to do, and Paul followed hard after Jesus’ footsteps, putting down the desires of his flesh so he could do what the Lord was calling him to do, regardless of the cost. Well, this week, it was like I just kind of “hit the wall” so to speak. I was on “overload.” That is never the Lord’s doing. He is not a slave driver trying to see how hard He can push us. In fact, He calls us to be like Mary in the following scenario...
Luke 10:38-42
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The Lord showed me this very verse this morning. I ran around the house as usual trying to get a few things started before coming to prayer. But He was calling me to just sit with Him and be like Mary. She took the time to just be with the Master and adore Him. She looked at Him and listened to Him, leaving all the cares and concerns of the world behind. Martha, on the other hand, was like me – running around the house trying to get things done. In reality she could have left the cooking and the dishes and joined her sister at the Savior’s feet.
She would have been well fed in His presence and given a drink that would have replenished her soul. That’s what I have needed more of this week. I have to let the housework go and just bask at the feet of Jesus. Two days ago I found myself crying before the Lord. I did not have anything in particular that was concerning me per se. But I cried and cried. That was a warning sign. It was time to HALT! If we are hungry, angry, lonely or over tired, there is only one place to go. We need to run, not walk to the loving arms of the Savior where we will find rest for our souls …
Matthew 11:29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
This week, rather than running at my own pace in the fast lane, I just needed to stop and learn from Jesus. I needed to ask Him what to do and to help me better prioritize my day. When He finally got my attention, He showed me that I have been trying to do all of this in my own effort. He knows my husband and I need help to run a ministry and a household, yet we had not properly asked for His help. Friends, the Lord reminded me this week that when we need help, we must ask Him for it. We mentioned it in yesterday’s study, however it bears repeating here…
John 16:24
Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Like the example I gave yesterday, the Lord may know we need His help, but we have to ask and believe we receive our petitions when we ask. He is eager to help us, but we need to seek Him. Deep calls unto deep – the deep things of God are calling to the deepest part of our spirit to connect with Him. Even if we are in the center of His will - when we start running on empty, then we can quickly slip outside of His will into the place of danger and become a target for the enemy. That is not God’s will, but He will not force us to comply.
I have been struggling with food issues, ministry requirements, and household demands all week and I knew that I was at a place where I really needed help. Everything in our lives seem to be changing (for the good of course) and because of that we need to draw very close to the Lord to receive His comfort, His wisdom, correction and directions to be able to move forward. Allowing ourselves to get too tired can break down our resolve to do God’s will. Just last night when we went to the beach for dinner with friends, I became resentful that I could not eat what everyone was having. I do not normally feel that way, but now I see that because I have been too tired and stretched, I had become resentful.
Today the Lord showed me this and I had to repent. I am so grateful that I get to eat a healthy, well balanced diet. I am grateful to be able to exercise my body and be strong and healthy. I often say to the Lord I feel like a 60-year-old going on 20! It is wonderful. But can you see how our thinking and overall mindset can change when we allow ourselves to get into the danger zone of exhaustion with not enough rest or time sitting with Jesus? That’s where I have been this week. My soul was getting downcast. I did not realize what had been happening. My husband could see it, but I couldn’t. So rather than approach me, he took it to the Lord and the Lord came through, shining like the morning sun to bring light to my situation. He opened my eyes to see what I was not seeing. Glory to His name forever.
I have been like the Psalmist – longing for God, much more of Him but not knowing how to fit it into my busy schedule. Maybe you understand this struggle a bit yourself. Maybe you have been running all your errands, taking care of a job, a family, a household and other things that you are involved in and you just feel like there isn’t enough time to really sit with Jesus. My friend, when we get to that point, something in our schedule needs to change. We need to put Jesus first! If we have too many things on our plates, then something needs to go. We have to seek first the kingdom…
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Just last week our pastor was used of the Lord to remind us to put first things first. And the first thing for the Christian should be the Lord! In our time, our money, our work – everything about our lives and in our hearts should exalt the Lord to first place. There is only one first place and the Lord alone is the One who deserves and requires it. If He is not first place, how can we call Him our Lord? He is not someone we just squeeze in when we have time. We need to make the best time for Him and then whatever else He leads us to do – the things that matter the most, down to the least, will be accomplished, with His help.
If I am to be in the ministry, I must have all the time that I need to be with my Savior. If I don’t have that, nothing else matters. Does that describe the desire of your heart? Are you longing for more of God? Are you putting your hope in Him and not in your own busy efforts or other people to help you? We can all get trapped in these “spin cycles” if we are not careful. And that is the place where the enemy dwells.
Like the Psalmist said in verse 10, the enemy’s sword was piercing him and the same thing can happen to us if we open the door with “busyness and exhaustion.” He can come against our minds and taunt us if we allow him with accusing thoughts like, “So where is your God now when you need Him the most?” He will throw every possible negative and accusing thought at us that he can whip up – if we are open to them. That’s why we have to find our rest, refreshment, peace and strength in God alone.
Sitting around thinking about the past as if our best days are behind us is a dangerous place to go. We have to know and believe that our best days are in front of us and know that if we walk in faith in God, His word and His promises, then He will bring us into the best shape of our lives. We have to stay in the faith realm. Exhaustion can cause us to quickly slip over into the reasoning realm – that’s where the enemy’s domain is. If he can get us to reason things out in our minds, then he has already whipped us! But if we keep him in the faith realm, then we have the victory already, before we ever see anything in our circumstances change – hallelujah!
Depression is a spirit. Yes, there is a spirit of depression. If we sense that, we need to resist it. Here’s what the Bible says about resisting the enemy…
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
We hear many Christians saying the second part of this verse without the first part. But we cannot do that and succeed. The first part comes so the second can come. We must submit to God. Submit to His will, His ways, and His leading. Then we resist the devil by submitting to God, and the enemy will take off. Not that he won’t ever be back to try to steal, kill and destroy again, but when he comes, we can just so the same thing – submit to God and resist him. When that spirit of depression tries to come on us, we can say to it, “I resist you in the name of Jesus!” and we can quote what God’s Word says about this, like the Psalmist today who said, “Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him.”
Here is one of the verses the Lord showed me this week and it really encouraged me as I remembered that the battle belongs to the Lord; when I give it to Him to fight that is…
Romans 16:20
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
My job is to keep running my race and trusting Him, moment by moment, day by day. He will squash the enemy under me. If I do my part, He will always do His. We need to seek the Lord in prayer and find out what He wants us to do – and when and how. Unless we do that, we will miss the mark. We must also maintain an attitude of praise. I didn’t realize last night how much I had allowed my thinking to slip about my eating and I had to repent and reel it back in today. I had to get back to thanking God that I get to eat really healthy foods and I am not sick and broken down because of a poor diet. I have health and energy. I can run with our puppy dog and keep up with kids. I like that. Doing things God’s way always produces magnificent results.
I have to share a testimony about last night. Before I went to the beach to dine with our friends and then walk the beach to enjoy the beautiful southwest Florida sunset, I had prayed and asked the Lord (2 days prior) to give us a wonderful sunset. They are from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I wanted them to experience the best while they are here. I believed when I prayed I had received my answer and looked forward to our evening.
Once we finished the dinner meal, they asked if we still wanted to go out to the beach because it was completely overcast. I said, “Sure.” So we all walked out and when we looked to the right, the sunset was a brilliant red. I had not seen a sunset here in a long time. Even though we live in a beautiful place where people from all over the world come to enjoy the splendor, we never get out there because we work all the time. To our left it was cloudy and there were flashes of lightning off in the distance.
Then I turned around and looked up as the Holy Spirit drew my attention around to the beautiful rainbow that was painted in the sky just ahead of us. It was so beautiful! I marveled at the Lord and smiled and then I gave Him thanks for answering my prayer and for the beautiful sunset and topping it off with a rainbow. Then I saw another rainbow form right next to it. It was as if the Lord was reassuring me that He keeps His promises. As I pondered these things in my heart today, Holy Spirit revealed to me that the Lord had given me a “double portion” of His goodness last night! I was overwhelmed by His goodness once again.
When we returned to the condo from our walk on the beach I went into the restroom and Holy Spirit said to me, “When you focus on the physical you can miss the miraculous.” We almost did not go out to the beach because of how things looked from the window. But once we were out there, we saw the miracle unfold right before our eyes. As I walked away from the place where the rainbow had been, there was an unusual illumination of the cloud that was there. I looked up and pointed, saying, “That’s You Lord – I know that’s You!” What a day. What a week! What a Savior! Praise His name forever.
We need never allow ourselves to be downcast. Spending enough time with Him can cure that problem real quick. When we are hungry in our souls, He is our bread. And when we are thirsty…
John 4:13-14
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
I was longing for more of God this week. In my prayers I asked Him for more time with Him. But that is really my own choice. If I take the time, He will never send me away empty. I was thirsty for His Living Water to refresh my soul. I was worn completely out. After I spent time with Him and “cried it out” it felt like someone had lifted the lid off of a pressure cooker in my heart. I felt calmed and relieved. He is faithful. When we come to Him we will never come away wanting for anything.
Questions:
Has your heart been longing for the Lord more lately?
What warning signs have you noticed in your own life recently?
Have you been feeling sad or over tired?
How much time have you been spending with the Lord? List ways you can improve.
What concerns about your schedule do you have?
In what ways has this lesson helped or encouraged you?
What changes will you make as a result?
There are three main points to consider from today’s study…
- God must be first place in our lives
- The Lord wants to help us with every aspect of our lives, including our schedules
- Time spent in His presence will always bring refreshment
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father;
Thank You for reminding me what is really the most important thing in my life – seeking You. Father, I have learned in times past that when I seek You I will find You. Father, forgive me for the times I have placed other things in front of You as if they were more important. Show me how to prioritize my time and my tasks so that I can seek You first above all else every day of my life. Apart from You I can do nothing, and Lord, apart from You life has no meaning. I give You all the glory, honor and praise for helping me to see what I could not see. I ask You to continue to reveal to me the truth so I can be free and walk in the center of Your express purpose for me. My soul longs for You O God! Thank You in advance in Jesus name. Amen.
What have you been longing for the most in your life?
And God Said… What is He saying to you right now?
Psalm 42:1
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
so pants my soul for You, O God.
so pants my soul for You, O God.
