Thirsting for God - Lesson from Psalm 62 (63)

How intense is our desire to be with God? Consider King David. When he was alone he cried out that his soul thirsted for God like one who was dying of thirst where there is no apparent way to satisfy this thirst. He struggled in prayer to God and meditated on Him day and night. He had a strong faith, believing that his strength and being came from God. It was Him only that could help and shelter him. We too must struggle in prayer when we feel separated from God.

1 A psalm by David, when he was in the desert of Judea. 

2 O God, my God, I rise early to be with You;

My soul thirsts for You.

How often my flesh thirsts for You

In a desolate, impassable, and waterless land.

So, what did he do? He affirmed his faith. He recognized that in the temple he was able to see His power and glory. He then praised Him. He never gave up. Instead he offered praise of God who had seemed to abandon him in this situation. This is why it is so important to attend the liturgy each Sunday and participate in the sacrament of Holy Communion. In the sacraments we are united with God.

3 So in the holy place I appear before You,

To see Your power and Your glory.

4 Because Your mercy is better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

5 Thus I will bless You in my life;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

6 May my soul be filled, as if with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth shall sing praise to You with lips filled with rejoicing.

7 If I remembered You on my bed,

I meditated on You at daybreak;

8 For You are my helper,

And in the shelter of Your wings I will greatly rejoice.

9 My soul follows close behind You;

Your right hand takes hold of me.

David did not waver in his faith, even when threatened with forces or circumstances that appeared to take his soul. For us these forces can be experienced in the norms of or current society. They can draw us away from God’s teachings. Social pressures and the rewards promised creat strong forces. We are tempted to give in, giving up the health of out soul, just to fit in, to be successful in the terms of our worldly standards. It is in this way that we can easily find ourselves separated from God.

10 But they seek for my soul in vain;

They shall go into the lowest parts of the earth.

11 They shall be given over to the edge of the sword;

They shall be a portion for foxes.

In David’s resolute faith he is able to overcome these forces that threaten to separate him from God. He teaches us to stand firm in our faith, to always struggle against the forces that will lead us to follow standards that are less than those God gives us. By Keeping God always in the forefront of our mind, praising Him, thanking Him for everything, these voices we constantly hear from friends, relatives, co-workers and teachers can and will be overcome

12 But the king shall be glad in God;

All who swear by Him shall be praised,

For the mouth that speaks unrighteous things is stopped.

W must be ever aware of our need to be valued by others, our self-centeredness, our need to be loved by others. This self-focus leads us to pretend to be someone we are not. It’s like we put on a mask, create a false persona, thinking our true self is ugly, less worthy. Only when we allow our soul to shine forth, to discard any mask we may have created for ourselves, we find a unity with God. This is how we can overcome our feeling of separateness from Him. This is how our “thirst in a dry land” can be satisfied.