'Cries of the Heart: The Cry of Longing (Psalm 84)' by Joanna Moss - July 19 2020
How do our desires shape the direction of our lives? In this talk, Joanna Moss looks at Psalm 84, and how a longing to be with God and in His presence can influence and bless the rest of our lives. Through this Psalm we learn that as we take time out from our busy lives to centre on God and receive His blessings, we can become more aware of God’s presence in us and at work in our lives. Can this Psalm be an encouragement for us to seek more time to just be with God?
Key points from talk
We all long for things and its important to reflect on what we long for because whatever it is that we long for, that is what we are going to pursue, to invest in and orientate our lives towards.
It is as we are in relationship with God – as we spend time in His presence – that we find our desires and longings are ultimately fulfilled.
Psalm 84 can teach us what being in God’s presence like and show us why it is so good to spend time with God.
Being in God’s presence is a place where we can:
Find rest and safety and be restored
It can change our attitude and perspective towards life
Find joy and blessing
It is as we spend time with God that we become more aware of His presence in us and at work in our lives. We become more aware of Him in us. And as we spent time with Him, re-centring on His presence this enables us to carry His presence into the remaining hours of our day, letting our renewed awareness open our eyes to see what God is doing in us and around us.
Key resources – what’s next for you?
Listen
Prayer and Fasting, Downtown Church Sermon - This is a sermon on prayer and fasting but it says some really good stuff on spending time with God and how we can use contemplative prayer to do this – I’d really recommend a listen!
Read
Dirty Glory by Pete Grieg – buy the whole book or you can read a few chapters for free via a Google Books sample
Engage
Lectio 365 app – if you want to spend more time in God but will like you need some direction as you do this, I’d really recommend using this app. It has a prayer thought and bible reading for every day which you can read or listen to over 10mins. I really love using it and its free!
Key questions for discussion
What do you think you’d see in the Mirror of Erised? What is your heart’s desire? Is it something that is rooted in the past or is it a hope for the future?
Why or how do you struggle to spend time with God? Do you identify with the sparrow - as feeling insignificant and unworthy of God’s presence? Or do you identify with the swallow – feeling too busy and restless to have time with God?
Do you believe that all your desires can be met and fulfilled through God and being in relationship with Him? How does believing that change your perspective on what you desire?
Where or when this week can you find 5-10-20-30mins to be still before God? To become more aware of His presence in you?