No, this is not a love song by Celine Dion. It is an ancient poem written by a wise rabbi named Ezra, a man who had grown up frustrated with the seemingly absence of God. Ezra was a responsible for completing the rebuilding of the temple after the Exile, the fulfillment of a life-long dream, an act that symbolized the return of God to his people - God was no longer absent.
Do you ever feel like God is absent from your life?
Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my Starbucks working on my sermon, I'll look out the windows and watch cars drive by, people walking towards the mall, the traffic rushing by on Illinois Road, and I'll wonder: if this is real life - why does there seem to be such a disconnect with the kind of life described in Scripture.
Where does God fit in with my normal life: get up, get the kids up, get ready for work, go to work, work, run some errands on the way home, come home, get dinner ready, play with the kids, get the kids ready for bed, put the kids to bed, clean up the house, take care of personal business, connect with my spouse, get ready for bed, go to bed, wake up, start the day over again.
This psalmist, Ezra envisions a kind of life where the heart, in whatever place if finds itself - at home, at work, out shopping, with the kids or spouse, playing or sleeping - the heart is seeking God, looking for signs of God's presence, the heart is reciting His poetry of life and love, the heart is remembering his works of generosity and creativity, the heart is envisioning a response of forgiveness and grace to whomever comes across my way.
There is the kind of life that happens to you. And then there is the kind of life that you make happen. God invites us to seek him, to delight in his instructions, to meditate on his ways, to rejoice in his interventions, to keep his Words wrapped around our mind. This is how one makes a life that one calls blessed, this is how one makes a life that blesses others.
So when I wonder where God is, when I wonder how God fits in with my regular life, I remember what He has done to me and others, and I keep seeking.
Someday I'll find what I'm looking for.
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