Psalm 63:1

October 26, 2015

Psalm 63:1... O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirst for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

David was actually in a dry and thirsty land where there was no water. It isn't clear why he was there, whether he was out on a campaign, trying to escape Saul, or fleeing from his son Absolom. But the correlation between this physical place and a spiritual one is fitting. Elijah, the prophet, became dry and thirsty.

In chapter 17 of 1 Kings, we see the land had no rain, Elijah prayed that it would not,yet the Lord provided for Elijah sending him to a ravine where her was fed by the ravens and drank from a brook. But it dried up. Then God sent him to a widow and her son and she provided water and bread for them in a miraculous way. But this is not the real thirst he had.Later he would have a spiritual one.

In chapter 19 of the same book, we read that God provided rain on the land after an amazing display of power on the mountain top. But soon after this event, there was another drought; a drought in the heart of Elijah. Jezebel wanted Elijah's head and  he was naturally fearful. What was he to do, did he trust God at this point to rescue him? He did not; he ran. He ran until he was exhausted and hid in a cave. But God did not abandon him. Instead he supplied him with water and food through a touch of an angel and then told him to travel on... which he did for 40 days and 40 nights. Wen he rested on Mount Horeb, God came to him. He asked Elijah, "what are you doing here?" Elijah answered him and told God that he wanted to die. He was so dry in his heart, and soul, and mind that he did not want to continue living. God reassured Elijah, and he continued in the Lord's work a while longer.

"Nice story, Dad," you say. It is many good stories in there actually, but you needed this synopsis so you could get the point of the verse in Psalms... Daughters don't doubt God way in the tough times. Or when you see the world succeed and you wonder whether it is worth living a holy life. It is. Do not become so dejected with the lives of others that you think there is no use going on. I've felt this way already. You must continue to do right and drink from the well that never run dry and one where you need never thirst again (Jn 4:14). Don't drink from the cistern of the world. It has lots of glimmer and promises, but they fail in the end. Instead earnestly seek the God who gives abundantly and satisfies the soul.

~Dad