6ways

Week 2 part 2 of our series, Quieting Your Heart for the Holidays

I’m reading Psalm 63 in my quiet time today. David talks about being in a dry and thirsty land. Scholars say that this was likely at the time that he went to the forest of Hereth in Judah (1 Samuel 22:5). He was in hiding, as King Saul was determined to kill him.

We all have a King Saul in our life. The Bible tells us that our “adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8.

We feel that presence in our life when we’re tempted and tried. We feel the stress when we’re pressed on every side. And we know that satan wants to destroy us.

Reading his words from Psalm 63, we can learn from David’s example. He teaches us how a servant of God should respond during dark and trying times. He teaches us how to quiet our hearts when we’re troubled:

  • He seeks God out. v. 1
  • He sees things from a different perspective: God’s loving kindness is greater than life itself. v. 3
  • He doesn’t just praise God, he praises Him with joy. v. 5
  • When he can’t sleep, he meditates on the Lord. v. 6
  • He acknowledges the faithfulness of God. v. 7
  • He fervently pursues the Lord. v. 8

These are all things that we know. We know we’re supposed to pursue God. We know that we’re supposed to praise Him. We know that we’re supposed to be joyful… so what’s to be learned here that hasn’t been said a thousand times?

It’s this. We need to take the things that we’ve learned in the light, into the darkness with us.

When the enemy is in pursuit of our soul we need to hold on to the truth of God’s word. It’s easy to say these things over coffee with a friend, when everything is going your way, but difficult when we’re tested and tried.

That’s the challenge for us. If we want to grow in our faith, we need to grow by our faith

Finally one other thing stood out to me in this chapter. In verse 7, David talks about the “shadow” of God’s wing. I’ve never thought about darkness that way before, have you? We’d all be wise to remember that God’s protection is upon us when we can’t see the light. Just because we feel stressed when we’re going through darkness, it doesn’t mean that we’re walking alone.

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife


O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 
To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. – Psalm 63:1-8