Today’s Lectio Divina: Excerpts from Psalm 4. (MsgB)
Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say.“More, more.”
I have God’s more-than-enough,
More joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.
At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together.
“Bigger is always better.”
“More is so much better than less.”
“If a little is good, more is great.”
“Go ahead, McDonalds. Super-size me.”
Could it be that my American values on the subject of ‘more’ have actually served to pull me away from God’s table?
How sad to think that I might arrive in heaven someday, look around the expansive throne room of God, and in my truest American tradition, say to God, “Is this all there is?”
Hmm.
Maybe ‘more’ has become my worst enemy in life. Maybe ‘bigger is better’ is a mantra that Satan has brought my way, cunningly designed to build an inner discontentment with the ‘enough’ of God?
Might I be walking right into a trap from the enemy when I go on mindlessly building bigger dreams and casting larger visions?
Could it be that King David stumbled onto something here in Psalm 4 that we Americans need desperately in our lives in order to get back on track with the God of the Scriptures?
Is it possible, for example, to find pure, unadulterated joy with God’s enough? Apparently King David thought so.
So maybe, as God’s pastoral shepherd, I need to re-think that church facility expansion project? Maybe I need to lay down my dream of pastoring a 2,000-member church? Maybe 75 to 100 is the perfect number for me and my church? Maybe God is saying ‘enough’ while I’m out there yelling and screaming for ‘more’?
Hmm.
Maybe, like Paul, God is asking me to find contentment in smaller things instead running with the crowd that is looking to buy and build ‘more’? In his letter to the Philippian church (4: 11-13), Paul states,
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”
Kinda sounds a lot like the joyful and contented King David in Psalm 4.
Need I say ‘more’?
My prayer: Forgive me, Lord, for being caught up in the glamor of ‘more’. For heaven’s sake, I even treat You the way I look at the world! Always clamoring for ‘more’ of You while never being content with the amount of Your presence I have today. Forgive me, Father. Teach me the ways of King David and the Apostle Paul, where You are ‘enough’ for today. I will rejoice in Your ‘enough’. For Your name’s sake. Amen.
My questions to ponder: How has running with the ‘bigger is always better’ crowd taken me off track with God’s ‘enough’ in my life? Has greed for ‘more’ pulled me off the original mission God gave me in pastoral ministry? Has ‘growth and expansion’ become so important to me that I’ve forgotten to learn the fine art of learning contentment in God’s enough?
So what is God speaking to you today as you ponder the Psalms?
Over a 50-week period, you and I will take a deeper look at The Psalms: God’s Songbook of Prayers. In order to keep all the blog sessions organized, we suggest you bookmark our Contemplating the Psalms home page for ease of use. Keep in mind that one of the best ways to explore the on-going applications of this blog series is to walk alongside a biblically-based, Christ-centered spiritual director who is familiar with how to make material like this part of your overall spiritual formation in God. Many of our directors in our Sustainable Faith-Heartland network are available to companion you in your journey with Jesus. Click here for more info.
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