My soul thirsts for You as in a dry and thirsty land

The dry and thirsty land referred to in this quote from Psalm 63:1, is the Judean wilderness. And if you want dry, the Judean wilderness is dry indeed! But David is not talking about natural thirst and natural dryness, he is speaking about spiritual thirst and spiritual dryness. We too live in a spiritually dry place, and our culture is looking to satisfy its raging thirst in all the wrong places. If you ask most people what they want from life, the answer very often is that they just want to be happy. But King Solomon who had every material thing and every earthly pleasure his heart desired could declare “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, and a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). On the other hand Jesus tells us "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

Tradition has it that this the occasion of this Psalm was when David took to the wilderness because his son Absalom had usurped his throne and David had fled there (2 Samuel 15:1ff). David’s relationship with the Lord had started early as a shepherd boy, and had been reinforced in his time in the wilderness running from Saul. So by this time David’s relationship with the Lord is solid, and his very first response in this new trial, was to call out to God saying “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You” (verse 1). David could easily have been offended, crying out to God asking why, but instead, he presses into God. He writes “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You,” and “Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice” (verses 3, 7). Do you go to God in difficult times, and if not, where do you go?

Just yesterday somebody was saying to me that I was strong and that I somehow seem to be able to manage to rise above it all. My response was rather that actually, I am too weak to go anywhere else but to Him. And if I am strong, then I am strong in Him, not in my own strength. And with Paul can declare “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10). The point is, that when my soul follows close behind Him, then His right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:8). Some have accused me of using God as a crutch, but to me it is far more like a brand-new pair of legs! And in this dry and thirsty land most people I see are limping, and some limping quite badly!

Lord, in Abraham’s disappointment in the long delay in Your coming through for him, You told him You are his shield, his exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1). I’m starting to see it Lord, and I press in to You again this morning. And I thank You for Your Word and for Your promised never to leave me nor forsake me. And so my lips too shall praise You Lord, because Your lovingkindness is indeed better than life in Jesus Name Amen