Praising God in the Wilderness

 “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”   Psalm 63:1 (NASB)

In a dry and weary land where there is no water, we naturally think of seeking water to quench our thirst and to satisfy our physical need. But in Ps 63:1, we can see that King David, in the wilderness of Judah where he was hiding from his son Absalom, wasn’t thinking about water or his personal safety. Instead, his soul thirsts for God, and he seeks God earnestly, his flesh yearning for God. His thirsting soul is satisfied in God only.

When you find yourself in a dry wilderness situation in life, what do you do? Let us learn from King David and follow his footsteps.

First, he seeks God. In Ps 63:2-3, he wants to see God’s power and glory as he had seen it in the sanctuary. King David had been in the tabernacle. He had seen the glory of God, but he wasn’t satisfied with that. He wanted to see that wilderness turned into a sanctuary where he could worship and praise God.

We are satisfied to hear about God and sing praises to Him in church. But what happens we come into the wilderness? We should be like King David and say,” I want to see God’s glory through this wilderness experience just as though I were worshipping God in the church service in the comfort of a familiar setting.”

King David was a man who went after God’s heart and yet he had his wilderness experience. We likewise will go through different wilderness experiences (this pandemic is one of them) in our life.

The second thing King David does is: he blesses God. “So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. “(v4). In v2b “To see Your power and Your glory.” In v5b “and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.” In v6b “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.”

The psalmist is totally involved in the worship of God. He uses his eyes, lips, hands, soul, mouth and mind. The psalmist serves as a good example of the true worshipper who blesses God.

Satisfaction doesn’t come from the circumstance on the outside. It comes from the blessing on the inside. Praising God releases blessings and satisfaction. The psalmist’s soul is satisfied with marrow and fatness . King David was satisfied with God.

Finally, King David rejoices in God (v11). King David could rejoice in God while he was in the wilderness. That’s what God wants from us. He does not want us to rejoice in earthly things or in any person.

Indeed, the wilderness is good for us for it teaches us an important truth: We draw satisfaction from blessing God on the inside, not from circumstances on the outside, especially when we are faced with so many adversities and challenges in life.

Wilderness experiences are not entirely bad for us. They draw us closer to God and remind us to praise God who satisfies.

Next time when we face a wilderness experience, let us learn from King David’s responses to God.  First, he seeks God, then he blesses God and finally he rejoices in God. Let us praise God who satisfies!

By brother Yue Fah Yong