"I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop." (Psalm 102:6, 7)
I read an article by Billy Graham back in the 1960's. He wrote of how he preached from our text in a London Crusade in the 1950's. There was a very wealthy businessman in the meeting that night who gave his heart to Jesus. Psalm 102:6 & 7 spoke to the heart of this very wealthy, yet very lonely man. My Bible prefaces Psalm 102 with the words, "A Prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD." If you have ever been in such a "place," this psalm is for you.
Most religious people, especially those who consider themselves to be "mature," don't like to admit that such passages touch a sensitive place in their hearts. It shows not only a vulnerability, but also a weakness, perhaps an immature sort of faithless existence. But I can say honestly that there have been times in my life where this monthly reading described me. It happened most vividly that lonely summer of 1970 after the passing of our son, Stephen. "Wilderness....I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop." A twenty-seven-year-old is not supposed to feel like this. Life is still new, full of hope, dreams waiting to be fulfilled. "Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble...."--------------- and He didn't.
Today, you may be feeling some of this, though no one around you knows. "My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass." Loneliness can do this. Yet notice what brought deliverance to this struggling creature, "But You, O LORD, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion....So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth Your glory." That, "pelican of the wilderness," that, "owl of the desert," that, "sparrow alone on the housetop," got out of himself by realizing he was a part of something much bigger than a lonely, "housetop."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that I don't have to go anywhere for Your Presence. Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
