In the 63rd Psalm we see King David, weary and empty. His son Absalom has decided to attempt to overthrow his father and as a result David has taken his household and those closest to him into the Judean wilderness to hide. Facing betrayal, threats, being displaced from the palace, and not having access to the temple, David is at a low point.
There are many things David could have been chasing after at this moment like: refuge, supplies, followers, justice or even revenge. But David has one thing on his mind…
Psalm 63:1-11 (NASB)
1 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.
What do you do in those low moments of your life? Does it take being low to realize just how empty you really are? What do you look to in order to refuel? What gets you back on track. It would have been easy for David to assume that his problem was Absalom, but he didn’t. Instead he knew he was lacking God and he refuels with God through worship.
There are many awesome truths to apply from this Psalm. But mainly we see how much worship allows us to rest. What gets us in trouble is when we decide that something else is more important than God, we ascribe worth to that thing or that person and then we are crushed when they don’t meet our expectations or make us happy. However, when we ascribe ultimate worth and value to God…when we recognize that He’s bigger than any problem or situation we’ll face…when we trust that He loves us and will ultimately turn things for our good, then we can rest in Him. That’s the heart of worship that changes everything and satisfies our soul.