Echoes From the Campfire

No human creature ever entered an desert oasis without joy, nor left it without regret.”
              –Zane Grey  (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

    “Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.”
              –Matthew 5:6 (AMP)
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In this time of trial, take time to taste some of the Lord’s goodness.  When I was reading for this part of Psalm 36, the following chorus came to me.

         “Drinking at the springs of living water,
          Happy now am I,
          My soul they satisfy;
          Drinking at the springs of living water,
          O wonderful and bountiful supply.”
                   –John W. Peterson

Let’s take a look at the rest of Psalm 36, from the Holman version.  Let the verses refresh your soul, mind, and spirit.

    7 – God, Your faithful love is so valuable that people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
    8 – They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream,
    9 – for with You is life’s fountain.  In Your light we will see light.

In these perilous times; these times of unrest and uncertainty, we should enjoy the “refreshing stream.”  The NIV puts it this way, “rivers of delight.”  People are trying to do this or that; they are trying to find things to do at home.  Why not turn to God’s “refreshing stream”?  Instead of binge television, or binge movie watching, or binge eating, why not a “binge” of reading and studying God’s Word?  Ahhh, the water is so refreshing.

    10 – Spread Your faithful love over those who know You, and Your righteousness over the upright in heart.
    11 – Do not let the foot of the arrogant man come near me or the hand of the wicked one drive me away.
    12 -There the evildoers fall; they have been thrown down and cannot rise.

Look how high the love of God reaches.  His love, His faithfulness, His righteousness is unlimited.  Think about Him and what He has done for man.
    God is there to sustain us.  He is our refuge, food, drink, life, and light.  He will be there if we should fall to pick us up.  We are not like the wicked who are “thrown down and cannot rise.”

         “I head the voice of Jesus say, ‘Behold I freely give
          The living water; thirst one, stoop down, and drink, and live.’
          I came to Jesus and I drank of that life-giving stream;
          My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.”
                   –Horatius Bonar