Week 6 - The Pursuit of God
Psalm 63: 1-8
1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
What a blessing that we get to read the prayers of David and be so encouraged and motivated by the way that he praised and worshipped God.
Priority of God
My question is this, how often do we seek God first? So often I try to do things my own way first. Throughout this time I have hurt more than I can count, but I can count on less than one hand the amount of times I have reached out to God. This is a reminder to all of us to prioritise God in all that we do.
O God, you are my God; early I will seek You.
Praise to God
Through the whole of this psalm, we are reminded that nothing should hinder our passion for God. It is so easy to take the circumstances of the world and direct our misunderstanding of the situation to God. It is okay to cry out to God in question but above and beyond all of that, he deserves our praise.
Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.
Pleasure in God
Sometimes we don’t get to choose our circumstances, often hardship and suffering comes our way and it isn’t possible to reject it; yet we are called, no matter what comes our way, to be fully satisfied in Him. I heard a lovely saying the another day (forgive me, I can’t remember who from: if it was you, you’re great), that we’re not all in the same boat, we’re all on the same ocean but we’re on different boats. Yes we are all fighting a crazy pandemic, and so many people are making sacrifices that they never thought they would have to make, but no one’s experience is the same. The one thing I can assure you of though, is that you are not alone, you are loved and there is always something to be joyful for (even if we are struggling to find it).
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Preoccupied with God
I’ve heard some incredible testimonies recently of people preoccupying themselves with prayer, reading the Bible and spending quality time with God. If that’s you, amazing! That is such a blessing to hear. But I know, that this is not the case for all of us. I have so struggled to get stuck in with my relationship with God during this time. It is not an easy battle to face, but being intentional and setting time aside for God, might allow us to fall into a habit of doing it daily.
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night
Pursuit of God
I am reminded of a child, clinging onto his mothers hand, crying to not be separated from her in order to attend nursery. How many times have we felt this same connection to God? I can often go weeks without picking up my Bible, and I don’t even think about missing my relationship with God. How beautiful would it be, to be clinging on to God’s arms so tightly, that the prospect of letting go makes us feel afraid? The questions withstands, how do we cling to God? I think this is through praying daily, spending time basking in his presence and intentionally setting time aside to listen to what God wants to say to us.
I cling to You; your right hand upholds me.
When a child clings onto their parent when they are crossing the road, the child thinks it is them holding onto the parent, when in fact it is actually the parent holding onto the child. God does the same for us. We can do all of the above, and try our best to hold close to God but the reality, is that God is holding onto us.