The God in the desert Part-1

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 The very first two verses of Psalm 63 say the following: "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory."

I don't know about you but every time I say something is mine, that something becomes kind of personal to me, doesn't it? That's what David is doing in this Psalm, he referrs to his God as "my God". He is implying that he has a very personal relationship with God. In fact, that's what he says in the second part of verse one through the expressions "I seek you", "my soul thirsts for you" and "my flesh faints for you". He has such deep a desire to get even closer to his God than he already is, that he can't contain his attraction to Him and wants to do everything possible to accomplish that closeness. Do we have the same desire to get close to our God every second, every minute and every hour of our day? If we don't, we should! Intimacy with our God is pivotal for our spiritual well-being.

I have decided to name this three-part series "the God in the desert". Why? Because, read the last part of verse 1: "... As in a dry and weary land where there is no water". This desert is the desert of Judah as it is mentioned in the subtitle of this psalm. As you can expect, deserts are dry, they make you weary and they have no water; no wonder David says: "my soul thirsts for you". He is physically and spiritually thirsty. Why is David in the desert? What made him go there? Believe it or not it was because of his son Absalom who wanted to kill him and take over the kingdom. We can best understand what is going on if we read 2 Samuel 15:13-14: "And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword". What would you do if your own son were trying to kill you? There's no wonder David goes into the desert, and it's not just a physical desert, but a spiritual one as well. I cannot imagine how deeply depressed King David could have been. It had to be horrible and his heart had to be completely destroyed by such a vile attitude from his own flesh and blood. But what does David do? He turns to His God, his personal-intimate God, the God that never forsakes him. David looks at God and remembers the kind of God He is and the God he has experienced in the past: "So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory". He is a God who is powerful and He is a God who is glorious. David hangs onto that to go through the desert that has been placed before him. He's not going through that desert alone. His own God is walking with him. The same is for us. How many times, in the course of our life, we go into long periods in our personal deserts and the last thing we remember is God? He should be the first one we seek, the first One we thirst for, the first One we long for. O how our life could be transformed if we just cling to the One who saves, the One who protects, the One who has you engraved in the palm of His hands! That's who you need when you're going through desert times. The God in the desert can be found and he can quench your thirst whenever you need it . He can refresh your soul like no one else could do. The God in the desert is all we need. We just need to reach out to Him. He'll be there for us waiting to listen to our plea. He will also be ready to give us a word of comfort in our time of need, our time in the desert. So, whenever you feel lonely, hopeless, tire or desperate, do not hesitate to call upon the God of heavens, the Almighty God, The God of all comfort, the God in the desert!

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