Today I'm skipping all the way to Psalm 63.
"A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah," this Psalm describes David's longing for God while we was separated from God's presence at the Tabernacle. David's faith alone, with no Tabernacle, no Ark, no Levitical sacrifices, carries him through this hard time.
David's longing for God is urgent and pressing, he seeks God early in the morning, probably during the act of waking itself. Before he gets out of his bed he is praying to God.
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.
David is out in the wilderness, where there is no water, and yet he does not complain. He has the fellowship of God, and life is grand. His problems are insignificant compared to the wealth of God's companionship.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
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.
The day is done, and David meditates on God's goodness on his bed, his life protected by God's goodness for yet another day.
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
David is confident in his relationship with God, knowing that he has been anointed to be the king of Israel. He is confident that just as God is protecting him, God will also bring an end to those who seek his life.
But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.
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.
Can we praise God in rough times? Or do we concentrate on how hard life can be sometimes? Can we be so wrapped up in how good God is that we can allow that joy to completely overwhelm any hardship, any fear we face?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.