Psalm 63
Psalm 63
One of the most universal experiences in the relationship between God and humans is also one of the most difficult ones. There comes a season in our lives (or two or ten) when we simply feel distant from God. We rack our brains for a reason why God would feel distant, asking ourselves, “was it something I did? Am I not praying enough?” etc, yet we never seem to find a why for this feeling.
And even if we did find a why we know that God is never distant. His word says that he dwells within us through his Spirit. We know in our brains that God is near, dwelling within us, but it just doesn’t feel like it. And if that feeling persists, we might even start to believe that feeling like God is distant means he is, in reality, distant.
Do you feel like this now? Is there a situation that you feel like God is distant from? If you don’t feel like this now, was there a time when you did?
This feeling is valid, and this experience is practically universal. It’s hard experiencing this and knowing that we can’t really do anything to “fix” it.
In this Psalm, David is experiencing one of these moments. He is on the run from his son, who is beginning to act as the Judge of Israel. Unable to stay in Jerusalem while his son clamored for power and conspires against him, David flees to the wilderness.
We see in the first stanza of the poem that David is using imagery from his physical circumstances to communicate to God about his spiritual circumstances. Not only is he distant from people, alone in a desert where he is physically thirsty, but he is spiritually thirsty, longing for God, yet feeling distant from Him.
In the Northwest in 2023, we don’t experience extreme heat, lack of water or the monarchal disputes David did. But we do experience long bouts of darkness when the sun sets before 5 pm, constant uncomfortable cold, and for many of us - a mild to moderate case of seasonal mood swings.
When the dimness of our spiritual life is compounded by the nature of physical space, we can feel beat down, moody, and pessimistic. How do we respond when this is our circumstance?
Well, we all know there is no “quick fix.” Just like we have to wait for long sunny days and warm summers to come back, sometimes we must wait for the feeling of God’s presence in our lives to reemerge.
As we wait, we can imitate David’s posture toward God and his circumstances. If you find yourself feeling distant from God, pessimistic, moody, or let down - consider praying or journaling through these aspects of Psalm 63.
Tell God that you long for Him and that you desire his presence in your life (verse 1)
Communicate to him how you feel about your circumstances (verse 1)
Ask him to remind you that his “love is better than life” (verse 3)
Cling to an aspect or promise of God you need to remind yourself of (verse 8)
Rejoice that God will deliver you, and will be with you in every circumstance, even when it doesn’t feel like it (verse 11)
