God, you are my God. I search for you. I thirst for you like someone in a dry, empty land where there is no water.
I have seen you in the Temple and have seen your strength and glory.
Because your love is better than life, I will praise you. I will praise you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in prayer to your name.
I will be content as if I had eaten the best foods. My lips will sing, and my mouth will praise you. [vss 1-5]
I remember you while I’m lying in bed; I think about you through the night. You are my help. Because of your protection, I sing. I stay close to you; you support me with your right hand.
Some people are trying to kill me, but they will go down to the grave. They will be killed with swords and eaten by wild dogs.
But the king will rejoice in his God. All who make promises in his name will praise him, but the mouths of liars will be shut. [vss 6-11]
A psalm of David when he was in the desert of Judah. (Psalms 63:1-11 NCV)
A person can go without food much longer than without water. Breathing is even more of a necessity! Food, water, and breath are all essential for anyone's life. When a person is deprived of these life essentials, death is certain. And yet, our mind and spirit are also affected by this deprivation before death comes.
King David, in a time of great stress, realizes his deepest needs are more personal and spiritual than physical. This psalm expresses the cry of David's soul during a time of exile when his son Absalom stole the kingdom from him.
David's physical environment—a desert wilderness—matched the state of his soul. He was on the run, yet he was confident in God. He knew his greatest need and help was the Lord.
God wasn't David's last option, but his first and best one. He knew this deep in his heart. So he cries out to God with all his being, just as a wanderer in a dry, dusty desert would long for a drink of water.
David longed for God's presence and involvement in his life, saying it was better and more important than his physical life. This is the heart cry of a true believer. This is genuine faith.
He knew God would come to his rescue and he let everyone know it. ©Word-Strong_2016
How confident are you that God cares about you and hears when you call out to Him?
Does your heart and soul thirst for the one, true living God?
Is God's love better than life itself to you?
Would you like a free study guide for your study of Psalms?
Click Here to get a Free Psalms Study Guide
I won't cover all 150 Psalms, but do selective devotionals through the rest of Psalms.
So if I skip one that you like... let me know and I'll try to cover it!
