“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.” Psalms 63:1-2

Lord God, You are my God. As I live my life in this world, it is a desert wasteland, it is desolate on every side. I realize and experience more and more every day that nothing in this world will satisfy me. In fact, everything in this world is just a leech. It dries me out. It exhausts me. It dehydrates me. It leaves me gasping for breath and longing for water in this world. Earth is truly a desert drear. I experience this and realize this more and more every single day. But Lord as I look to you in your Holy Place, I consider and gaze on your power and your glory. I consider how powerful and mighty you are to save. I consider how powerful and mighty you are to protect. I consider how powerful you are to guide and govern. I think about the weightiness of your glory and majesty. You, God, are truly majestic and glorious more than I know or can imagine. When I look to you, Lord, in your Holy Place, then my spirits revive and my strength returns. When I gaze on you and think about you throughout the day and night, then I have reason to praise you for as long as I live. Satisfy me, O Lord, with food for my body and strength for my soul. Do not leave me, Lord! Follow close to me and holy me with your mighty right hand. Guard me in the shadow of your wings. Sustain and strengthen me in this desert that is my dwelling place for me. And, finally, bring me to the dwelling place you have prepared for me. Amen.

This world is not the paradise God intended. It is a desert and a desolate wasteland. But one day, God will turn this desert into paradise. I can’t wait!