It’s 7am in the morning; I have finished my breakfast and read the newspaper. I am too early to prepare to go out. Today will be a busy day for me, even though I will not be going in to the church office to work; I will be attending a seminar at Singapore Bible College, and during the lunch hours, I will be rushing over to a Presbyterian school to preach in a chapel service, and will be most likely doing a hospital visit after the seminar, and head home to prepare for small group meeting. I have not been so busy or pack a day with so much for quite awhile. Today will be a litmus test for my tenacity against stresses.
As I read through today’s psalm, I am drawn to verse 9: Thou dost visit the earth, and cause it to overflow; Thou dost greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; Thou dost prepare their grain, for thus Thou dost prepare the earth (NASB).
There are three things that speak to my heart this morning. And the first one is that God ‘visit’ the earth, and causes it to overflow. This reminds me that God is not far away, or sitting at the remote corner of the heaven looking down the earth, or hiding in His private room staring at his CCTV monitors. God does ‘visit’ the earth. He is near. He comes to us. He comes to me.
When I was young, I used to have this understanding that when someone in high authority came to visit me, I must have done something wrong, or I must bring something nice to offer to him. But this psalm reminds me that God visitation is not to find fault with me, or to ask me for offerings, but rather He visits me to cause me to overflow. I am so blessed with this. I am so comforted with this. I am overwhelmed by such love of God. He comes to cause me, my soul, to overflow. He does not come to just fill or refill; but to cause me to overflow. This is a promise of abundance.
And when I read on in verse 9, I come across the phrase: greatly enrich. This speaks of grace in abundance. I do not know how can I better put it, but to use the phrase ‘greatly enrich’ is redundant in English, and I think so for Hebrew. To be enriched is to be in abundance. NIV translates this as ‘enrich it abundantly’. But I think, there is no better way to express the richness and abundance of God except using two positive words to enhance each others. This shows only that God is so generous in His blessing, and sometime I wonder why I undermine His riches. Do you? Have you ever doubt that God can provide for you more that you need?
I have been hoping to have my own transport, maybe a motorbike or a car (as now I have a driving license); I know it will be demanding and challenging for my family financially. But I have a hope that God will send someone to provide this need for me so that I can be more mobile for His works and for my family too. (If you are reading this, it is not for you to provide for me.) But I also at the same time doubt it. Today, I am going to claim upon this blessing: God will provide me with a car or a motorbike!
And lastly, I am reminded by the psalmist that there is a ‘stream of God’, which is full of water. I have been writing about thirsty souls and our longing for the living water. There is a stream of God, full of water, full of living water. This stream is whereby you and I can rest in the Presence of God. This stream is whereby our souls can be refreshed and find rest. This stream is whereby we can encounter God face to face. We are not only allowed to drink from this stream of God, but we can also jump into the stream of God to soak ourselves in it to be washed and cleansed; and also we can simple lay down beside this stream of God and listen to the peaceful gush of water flowing.
Today, you may be as busy as I do, or even more busy than me. Take some time to go near to the stream of God to find rest and refreshment. I am ready to face my day, are you?
Remember, God visits us at where we are, and wants to greatly enrich us, as we take time to be near at the stream of God.
It's almost 8am, I have to go. God blesses you.
HHS…
Abel…
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