Psalm 43 (NIV)
When we were growing up, my dad once got us a tropical fish tank. It brought us a lot of amusement – from trips to the grotty fish market to staying up well into the night waiting for a fat guppy to give birth. It was mildly entertaining – by and large.
This fish tank had a filter that kept the water fresh and clean. Occasionally the filter would stop working and literally overnight the water would get so murky we wouldn’t be able to see the fish anymore.
On the odd days I am moping about the house feeling gloomy for whatever reason – my mind feels like that dirty fish tank whose filter has just gone kaput.
And believe me, the last thing I ‘feel’ like doing is picking up my Bible and singing praises to God! However when I ‘choose’ to finally read my Bible – each verse hits the spot like a soothing balm and speaks right into my situation.
Like the Psalmist who has been feeling incredibly oppressed and downcast laments and then cries out in verses 2-4:
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
The truth in God’s word is the Light that this Psalmist is asking for. It is only truth from God that is powerful enough to shine through the murky depths of a gloomy soul.
When the water in our old fish tank got cloudy, one of us would have to remove the filter, unscrew its various components and wash and rinse the bits inside really well. THAT was not a job we liked doing! There were these awful black, smelly bits and other unmentionables that would appear and we would have to rinse and rinse it through till the original colour of the sponge inside the filter emerged. It was a vile job. But once the filter was cleaned out and put back, the water would return to being bright, clean and sparkly again.
Sometimes, the filter in our minds can get cloudy – prognosis of an illness is not great, work is stressful and over-demanding of us, we don’t feel we are good enough to do anything or any other thoughts if let loose can take us to some very dark places.
But when we clean the filter of our mind under the ever-running tap of God’s word (reading it, studying it, meditating on it) our minds are transformed to be bright, clean and sparkly again. Getting rid of stuff that has clogged up our minds can be a pretty gross job – but we will be all the better for it - trust God!
His word in Romans 12:2 says, Our lives will be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
If His Word says it – then it’s true. Let's believe it.
When we were growing up, my dad once got us a tropical fish tank. It brought us a lot of amusement – from trips to the grotty fish market to staying up well into the night waiting for a fat guppy to give birth. It was mildly entertaining – by and large.
This fish tank had a filter that kept the water fresh and clean. Occasionally the filter would stop working and literally overnight the water would get so murky we wouldn’t be able to see the fish anymore.
On the odd days I am moping about the house feeling gloomy for whatever reason – my mind feels like that dirty fish tank whose filter has just gone kaput.
And believe me, the last thing I ‘feel’ like doing is picking up my Bible and singing praises to God! However when I ‘choose’ to finally read my Bible – each verse hits the spot like a soothing balm and speaks right into my situation.
Like the Psalmist who has been feeling incredibly oppressed and downcast laments and then cries out in verses 2-4:
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
The truth in God’s word is the Light that this Psalmist is asking for. It is only truth from God that is powerful enough to shine through the murky depths of a gloomy soul.
When the water in our old fish tank got cloudy, one of us would have to remove the filter, unscrew its various components and wash and rinse the bits inside really well. THAT was not a job we liked doing! There were these awful black, smelly bits and other unmentionables that would appear and we would have to rinse and rinse it through till the original colour of the sponge inside the filter emerged. It was a vile job. But once the filter was cleaned out and put back, the water would return to being bright, clean and sparkly again.
Sometimes, the filter in our minds can get cloudy – prognosis of an illness is not great, work is stressful and over-demanding of us, we don’t feel we are good enough to do anything or any other thoughts if let loose can take us to some very dark places.
But when we clean the filter of our mind under the ever-running tap of God’s word (reading it, studying it, meditating on it) our minds are transformed to be bright, clean and sparkly again. Getting rid of stuff that has clogged up our minds can be a pretty gross job – but we will be all the better for it - trust God!
His word in Romans 12:2 says, Our lives will be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
If His Word says it – then it’s true. Let's believe it.
Very neat illustration of minds getting cloudy.
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