Psalm 63
Do you trust that God is good in both the Promised Land and the wilderness?
Take a moment to read this Psalm… meditate, journal, and reflect.
1 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.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
David wrote this psalm while he was in the wilderness of Judah—a place of hardship, learning, and growing. He fled there to hide from his son, Absolom, who drove him out of Jerusalem and wanted him killed (2 Samuel 15:23).
How does David respond to his time in the wilderness?
He prays.
He doesn’t ask for victory, or for God to take him out of the wilderness. He just asks for God Himself. David knew that only He could fully satisfy his heart, like water quenches thirst in a dry and weary land.
David’s fear and agony was real…I mean his son was out to kill him, yet he utters these words in his prayer “your steadfast love is better than life,” which means he knew that the love of God in the presence of God was better than not being killed. He allowed God to engulf him in His unshakable love…whether he lived or died was no longer a worry of his. This kind of love for God is radical and it had nothing to do with David’s own ability or strength to love God like that.
In fact, David knew he couldn’t find it within himself to get to this place of complete surrender. He knew his flesh was weak all by itself. He needed God to do a work in his heart, so he could fully feel this steadfast love. David cried out to God, because he desperately wanted to taste, not just know, that His steadfast love was better than life (“Earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you” Psalm 63:1).
David knew what it felt like to worship God wholeheartedly (v.2 “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory”), but in the wilderness, it was harder to find that desire and satisfaction. In his distress, he cries out to God, because he remembered what it was like to worship God and he wanted to do that again, even in the midst of a dry and weary land. We see in verse 5, that God awakened David’s spiritual taste, so he could see God, saying “I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
We may feel like we are in the wilderness at times during this season of life. We may not be in church with our families and friends, worshiping God together. The rhythms of life seem a bit off and we are all just trying to figure it out. But God is good in both the Promised Land and the wilderness. If you have seen and beheld his power and glory in worship (v. 2), but you don’t feel it right now, may this psalm of David be your prayer today.
If this is the prayer and desire of our heart, would not God show us in His might that His love is better than life, just like He did for David?
Reflection Question(s): Do you want to experience His glory in the same way David did during every season of life? He has given us His glory all around us (“The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork” Psalm 19:1). He will awaken your heart if you ask Him, seek for Him, and really want Him to (“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13). Spend some time in prayer.
Today’s Worship Song: Wilderness — Jeremy Camp
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKuQNpMWOFQ
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3DYV9JtOet5qJuAwYqeZQ3?si=XRAadUd9RCuiJ-HdLwF3iQ
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/wilderness/1473863783?i=1473864069
Please continue to send prayer requests my way! If you have any questions about what you read today, or just want to chat, my email is: blrich1399@gmail.com
With Love,
Brooke
