Praise Him in the Wilderness

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 wary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

My lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

In your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63:1-4, ESV

It is not uncommon, from time to time, to find ourselves in a wilderness of sorts. Sometimes these wilderness wonderings are self-inflicted and other times they are a result of the actions of others. In fact, there are even time that we cannot define what has led us to the wilderness, but we are there nonetheless. While one would struggle to find much to celebrate in the wilderness, it will teach us a lot about our relationship with the Lord.

The subtitle of Psalm 63 is, “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.” This was not a fun time for David. At this point, David is either running from Saul or his own son Absalom. Either way, David has been betrayed by someone very close to him. This wilderness wandering is the result of another’s actions.

David must choose how he is going to react to this. He can allow himself to slip into the deep pit of depression. He can be angry, knowing he does not deserve this. He can decide he is mad at God for not preventing this. David could just sort of sit down and give up. However, David is resolute that even during this difficult time he is going to praise the Lord. Look at the passage above and hear the definitive tone in his voice: “I seek…thirst…faint…for you. I will bless you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands.”

Maybe you find yourself in one of these wilderness wonderings today. If not, you know as well as I do that the time is coming. Resolve now to turn to God as oppose to away from God. Determine now that your response will be to praise God not accuse God. Choose to focus on God’s goodness instead of the agony of the hour. As we set our hearts to praise, our emotions will soon follow.