Psalm 63,  

1) “O God, you are my God; 

I will seek you eagerly.  

My heart thirsts for you, 

my body longs for you in a land parched and exhausted, 

where no water can be found. “ 

I don’t know about you but I have a list of people that I really look forward to meeting when I get to heaven and David is probably at the top of the list ~ outside of God, and Jesus, etc. (the obvious). I love reading the Psalms because so often we look at the great heroes of the Bible and we think they were somehow “different” than we are.  It’s like we think that God made them out of some sort of “special mud” compared to us and yet they are all men and women just like us and that is why I love reading what David wrote.  In this particular Psalm he was in the desert and clearly needed water and food and yet his response was to seek God and to praise Him!  He had serious needs and his response was to praise and that’s why he was considered a “man after God’s own heart”.  

(2-8) “I used to contemplate you in the sanctuary, 

seeing your power and glory; 

for your grace is better than life.  

My lips will worship you.  

Yes, I will bless you as long as I live; 

I am as satisfied as with rich food; 

my mouth praises you with joy on my lips 

when I remember you on my bed and meditate on you in the night watches.  

For you have been my help; 

in the shadow of your wings I rejoice; 

my heart clings to you; your right hand supports me.”

That’s how David responded to struggles.  He didn’t get angry with God or rant about the fact he hadn’t done anything wrong and yet he didn’t have what he needed ~ he didn’t have the basics he needed, food and water!  His response was to praise God because He knew in his heart that God was his rock ~ his answer!  He looked back and remembered all of the things God had done in the past and that encouraged him and that was what drove him to praise God in every situation whether it was good or bad!  God is God and He doesn’t change and the majority of the time when we struggle it is either a bad choice we have made or a bad choice someone else has made.  We need to be determined to grow in our faith and walk with Him both in the struggle and in the good times!  Every opportunity is an opportunity to grow if you just ask Him to show you what you can learn from it, even when things are good there’s always something we can learn.  

(9-11)  “But those who seek to destroy my life~

May they go to the lowest parts of the earth.  

May they be given over to the power of the sword; 

may they become prey for jackals.  

But the king will rejoice in God.

Everyone who swears by him will exult,

For the mouths of liars will be silenced.”

This is the other reason I just love reading what he wrote because he didn’t hesitate to be real about how he felt about his situation.  He went to God with his frustrations, he didn’t hold anything back but when he did, he did it with respect for Who God is.  He didn’t rage AT God, he vented to him about his enemies knowing that God would vindicate Him.  We can learn so much from David and Psalms because no one is exempt from struggles or people doing things wrong that affect our lives, but how we respond to those things is important. 

So whatever season of life you may be in right now, I would just like to encourage you to ask God what you can learn so you can have a closer walk with Him.  The reason David could say and do the things he did was because he walked so closely with God.  It’s the choices we make on a daily basis to grow that will make all the difference.  God has a plan for your life and the only way to achieve it is to walk with Him and then you can truly know that His best is yet to come!

Quote:  “First we make our attitudes, Then our attitudes make us.”  ~ David Waitley