Foreigners with God
Have you ever been in a foreign place? Maybe a different country, maybe another state, maybe a new school or church or workplace? It's not very easy being in a new place. We can feel like strangers or foreigners for a long time. Until... usually until... we connect with someone. Often that person is in the same situation as us and they can empathise with you.
I remember once being a little lost overseas. Then I heard another Australian accent. I went over and spoke to them and explained I was a little lost. They said "me too!" So it didn't really help me with directions, but it was a little comforting to know someone else was in the same situation.
As King David writes Psalm 39, he is looking for direction. And his answer is to seek the Lord. The Lord is his direction:
Psalm 39:7
7“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
When we are lost in this world, finding God means finding hope. It means finding the one who can give us direction and help us navigate where we are in life.
And an amazing thing about God, when we seek him and find him, is that we can dwell with him as a foreigner!
Psalm 39:11
12“Hear my prayer, Lord,listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
David still seems lost yet he dwells with God in his "lost-ness". As a foreigner in this world, we can find comfort in the presence of God, even though we still feel foreign, even though we still may seem lost.
David is still seeking restoration in this Psalm. He still seeks forgiveness and he is aware of the way he has sinned against God. yet even in this state, he is able to stay with God and to dwell with him.
Even in our desperate state of sin, there is no safer place than dwelling with God.
if you find yourself even in a desperate situation, be encouraged that being with God is still the safest and best place to be. As you work out your confession, as you seek to be corrected by God's discipline, it is good to be with him, for in Him we can not only find direction, but forgiveness.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Help me to find you when I am lost and to dwell with you, to stay with you, to remain in you. Guide me, correct me, rebuke, me, discipline me. But most of all, be with me through all of life as I seek to walk with you, despite my many times of failure.
Amen.