SEEKING the PRESCENCE of God DAILY with a PASSION!
June 15
Bible Reading: Psalms Chapters 60-67
SEEKING the PRESCENCE of God DAILY with a PASSION!
"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. So I have
looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your
lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You." (Psalms
63:1-3)
Psalm 63 is
a royal psalm that is replete with elements of trust in God. Temporarily
deposed, David is trekking across the wilderness of Judah to his enforced exile
east of the Jordan (2 Sam. 15:23–28; 16:2; 17:16) when he wrote this psalm.
However, unlike many of the psalms written in these dire conditions, this psalm
is overflowing with thanksgiving.
David declares his longing for spiritual renewal (vv. 1, 2), he expresses his
thankful mood (vv. 3–6), he gives voice to his trust in God (vv. 7, 8), and he
announces his hope for the future (vv. 9–11). In fact, David starts by
expressing his intimate, personal relationship with God with the words: “O God, You are my God” (v. 1a).
David looked
to God as an abiding treasure when all else was gone and as a sufficient
resource in every crisis. He was passionate in seeking God early: early in life and early every day. His
longing for God’s presence was as intense as the thirst of a traveler in a dry,
weary, arid wasteland (2 Sam. 16:2; 17:29). David refers to both his soul and
flesh is order to denote his whole being, and was totally involved in this
worshipful hymn to God with all his faculties: eyes (see, v. 2), lips
(v. 3), hands (v. 4), soul (v. 5), mouth (v. 5), and mind
(meditate, v. 6); as such, David serves
as an example of the true worshiper. It is important to note that David
cries less to see the sanctuary of his God than he does to see the God of his sanctuary. Our
delight should also be in God as we passionately seek his presence daily and
early!
When we find
ourselves in a “wilderness”
situation, we should take inventory of the things that are really important. For
David, God was really important in
his wilderness journey. This psalm speaks to us that God reveals Himself to those who seek Him early every day; He
satisfies the thirsty, and His power and glory are discovered through
passionate worship. The God we worship will be with us during our difficult
moments. If we hunger and thirst after
Him, God will satisfy us without fail (Matt. 5:6)!
When Jesus
called us to follow Him, it meant that we have embarked on a journey to
passionately pursue Him. This was David’s motive as well as he declared "my soul follows close behind You"
(v.8a). We need to draw closer and closer
to God on a daily basis. Why? Because His lovingkindness is better
than our life itself! (v.3) God alone can satisfy our inner longings!
Let us
understand that true joy and purpose comes only by chasing hard after God, and the closer we walk with God, there is less
room for anything else to come in between us and God!
"Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be."
