Psalm 63:1-11 – “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.  4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.  6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.  7 Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.  8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.  9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10 They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.”  NKJV

I used the entire Psalm because, in my view, our thought topic cannot be considered without considering the entire message presented.  Now, I ask a pertinent question, “Have you every longed for God and could not sense His presence?”  That is a desolate place which is most miserable.  What do you do if you long for Him and cannot sense His presence?  I believe this Psalm gives us a small glimpse which can prove invaluable if we will utilize and practice it in our lives.

The Psalmist proclaims what our hearts should and do exclaim, “O God, You are my God…”  You are God and when Jesus asked the disciples if they too would forsake Him, Simon Peter’s answer was, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the word of eternal life.  Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  [John 6:68-69].  The first confession is “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” is the basis of our Christianity.  Until we recognize that He is God we will find no motivation to repent but when we realize WHO HE IS our hearts break not because in our sinful condition we are hell bound but because we have broken His heart we run to the Cross in genuine remorse.

Next, he declares, “Early will I seek You…”  God, You will be the first thought on my mind and my first response in the new day will be to meet with you in fellowship and for instruction and strength.  Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”  He is to be the first thought and last thought on our minds as we begin and end our day.

Why does the Psalmist seek Him early?  Because He is God and because the Psalmist understands and senses the longing and thirst in his spirit for God.  He compares his thirst for God’s presence to that of a man in the wilderness without water.  Without God, his soul is parched and will wither into nothingness.  Without God, there is no strength for the battle.  Without God, there is no refreshing.  He cries out in desperation, “I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.”  He wants more than simply the demonstration of divine power but the fellowship of the divine presence of God.

Why?  Because the lovingkindness of God is better than life, in fact, without God’s lovingkindness there is no real life.  So, even in the condition of being thirsty and feeling as though he is in a parched dry land where there is no water or presence he declares, “My lips shall praise You.  Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.  My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.”

What do you do when you thirst or long for God and cannot sense His presence?  You determine that He is God, recognize your need for Him, and continue to offer praise and worship to Him who is the God of all living.  The Psalmist declares that even on his bed he meditates on God and expresses confidence that even though he might not feel God, he knows that God’s protection, power, and person are near and he rejoices in that confidence committing himself to God completely.  He rests in his knowledge and confidence that even if He cannot sense God’s presence God is there and keeps Him.

Therefore, my encouragement is that even if you feel you are in a dry land spiritually DO NOT GIVE UP and NEVER stop seeking, acknowledging, and praising God.  God bless you as you embark on today’s wonderful journey in Jesus!