Fountain of Life

Is it me, or does David seem a little manic depressive?  Psalm 35-36 seemed so opposite of each other...the first crying out for God's swift hand of justice, and the other an outpouring of thankfulness for God's love and wise judgement.  All joking aside, the two chapters are two sides of the same coin.  David had the deep faith needed to rely only on God for justice against sinners and evil men.  He also feared God (recognized Him for all that He is), from which David could recognize God's faithfulness, justice, and love.

Psalm 35 is a long drawn out call for God to help him with the very difficult situation he was in (it's possible this psalm was written when he was being hunted by Saul).  It was a daily reality for David to be in need...constantly awaiting God's answer to his prayers. 

Psalm 36 shows an acute awareness of how the Lord is our one source of hope, restoration, and strength.  David calls Him the "Fountain of Life".  The word "fountain" has a few different meanings, one of which is a point of origin or dissemination; a source.  If you look up Jeremiah 2:13, you'll see how the people of that day (much like people today) cling to the broken promises of this world...you name it - money, power, religious/rule keeping, etc.. spinning their wheels trying to fill whatever void is in their life (some call that a "God-shaped hole").  They miss out on God's promise to constantly refresh us with His Spirit, the living water.  You'll find the same thing in John 4:13...Jesus encounters the woman at the well, and she learns that just like our bodies need water each day - our souls need to be replenished with the living water offered to us by God.

When we go to the source, the Fountain of Life, and take in the Word of God through the Bible - we allow Him to fill us with Truth and the empowerment we need - new and fresh - each day.  Only then can we approach the circumstances of our life from God's perspective.

One side note - I'm so excited that in just a few days we're going into our 4th month of this "challenge".  I have to admit, I didn't know if this would last through January!  But keeping the blog has helped me personally to dig into my readings more than I would have by just reading.  So happy that I'm not doing this alone, and that I have family and friends along for the journey. 

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18:20