Empty

I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.

My eyes fail, looking for my God. (Psalm 69:3 NIV)

But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor;

in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation. (Psalm 69:13)

One of the beautiful things about God is his amazing timing. I have been feeling so empty and out of touch with the Lord and with life in general. (It bothers me that I am forty years old and suddenly blindsided by feelings. I blame the fact that I live with a thirteen year old, an almost eleven year old, and a nine year old. And they are all female.)

I am very involved with a women's Bible study at our church. One of my duties is to oversee the choosing of books to study every year. I have a lot of input from others and I am certainly not in charge, but I make sure that we have books and facilitators for every class. This means that in the spring, I read a lot of books to see if they might be good options for the upcoming year.

So here I am with all these feelings, reading Fight Back with Joy and Set My Heart on Fire and Romans: a Double-Edged Bible Study.

Today, on the first daily reading of Set My Heart on Fire, I read,

"Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32). When your heart is dry, downcast, or in despair, the conditions are just right to ignite your heart on fire with the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. When the Word of God confronts even the driest of hearts and the good, strong wind of the Holy Spirit blows, that heart is set on fire. And oh, how that fire can spread to others both near and far away." (Catherine Martin, Set My Heart on Fire, page 21)

Oh Lord,
have you swept away my familiar place of meeting you
(in the window seat of my previous house)
swept away my easy chatter with you,
swept away half my books for now
(where are they hidden?)
to replace them with a clearer desire for you?

You are my God. I worship you.
  In my heart, I long for you, as I would long for a stream
  in a scorching desert. (Psalm 63:1 CEV)



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