“O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (NLT)
David penned this psalm while he was in the wilderness of Judah. Absalom, David’s son, was after the throne and incited a rebellion against the king. David knew the desert well. This was home turf for him. After all, he’d spent many months in the desert as a young man, fleeing from King Saul. Now here he was, on the run once again, a fugitive from his own son. You’d think David would be singing a doleful tune, Back in the desert again, instead of a psalm of praise. Here he was, back to square one; or so it would seem.
For most of us, praise is not our default mode when life turns sour. The last thing that comes to mind is to sing a happy tune, let alone a song of heartfelt worship to the One who holds the power to change our reality. Yet that’s precisely what David did. He made the deliberate choice to dwell, not on his dilemma, but on his Deliver. David understood that if he allowed his focus to linger on his situation, he would likely despair. So he lifted his focus away from himself and onto the One who was his true friend, the One who had his back. In God, he found what he needed most; strength for whatever lay ahead.
Are you in a parched and weary place right now? Do you feel as though there is no respite in sight? Don’t lose heart, for it’s in the desert that we learn the most valuable lessons and hear God’s voice the clearest. Like David, pour out your heart to God. It won’t be easy, it won’t feel natural, it will take a conscious effort. But when you do, He will transform your wasteland into a place of worship.
Thought: “In the hard times, praise is an act of obedience and discipline. It may not be spontaneous, but when we manage to praise God in the midst of pain, the results can be dramatic.” – Dr. David Jeremiah