Hunger & Thirst #5

Make Your Passion A Journey

We come to the end of our study on Hungering and Thirsting after righteousness. We've seen what hungering and thirsting really means; how to use our past to drive us in our hunger and thirst for Christ; that being righteous doesn't mean being perfect, but it requires being committed; and how to pour out what God fills us with as we pursue righteousness.  With our final devotion on this topic, we'll see how important it is to keep this cycle going.  We do this by examining Psalm 63:

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Early Seeker

First we need to know when David was writing this Psalm. It was written while David was still being pursued by Saul.  Each day he never knew if he would die or not.  It was a very chaotic time, but David doesn't stay discouraged.  Instead, he recounts to God his commitment to him:

Psalm 63:1
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;

We see that hunger and thirst are on display from the outset of this prayer.  He reminds God he is pursuing him passionately.  Moreover he tells us when he does it:

"early will I seek thee."

Many interpret this as a call to praying early in the morning.  There are many scriptures that tell us to rise early to pray to God, and this is a good practice.  However, this Psalm is also talking in a symbolic sense.  This phrase can also reference to specific situations.  Basically, David is saying this:

"I am seeking you God before I seek my or any one's wisdom."

David was on the run from Saul, but he was in a crossroads position.  In the wilderness, he didn't know exactly where to go so he called on God to lead him on what to do in this transitional time.  His next move could lead to life, capture or death.  David knew he must seek God first if he wanted to have an opportunity to choose the right path.

Continual Pursuit

As the Psalm continues, David tells God he will seek him as long as he lives (v. 4).  He will praise God and remember him even when he is sleeping (v. 5-6).  Basically, David had gotten into such a mindset of seeking God that it had reached into his subconscious.  We discussed this in a previous activation, showing that to have a subconscious connection to God is a result of a deep and developed relationship with God.  David had that and we can to. 

If we will seek God early in our situations, before all of the world starts to fall around us, God will deliver us to the right decisions we need to make.  In all of David's running from Saul, we never see him injured or psychologically overwhelmed.  This is because he kept God first.  As a result he kept his body and mind in tact.  If we do as David did, we'll see our whole life stay in tact.

Revelation From Passion

When we choose to praise God and let the blessings of God satisfy us rather than live in despair and chaos, we'll find peace and hope for our situations.  Finally, because David had this mindset and purpose to seek God so passionately, he was able to speak boldly.  He proclaimed his enemies would be defeated (v. 9-10) and he claimed his kingship even before he was crowned (v. 11).  We can have this boldness and faith if we will continue to pursue God and his ways above all others.  Let this be a reminder to you as you go forward from this devotion series

Memorial

• Right out or print out Psalm 63 so you can carry it specifically with you everywhere you go.

• When you feel overwhelmed or about to face a tough situation, pull it out.

• Recite and pray this Psalm to God and seek His way for you to move forward.

• See how doing this releases the blessings of God into your life, filling you up for the journey.