Water · Emotions
Your water bottle went empty an hour ago, and there is still a mile of desert trail to go. Your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth. Every bend makes you hope for the car, and you stop thinking about anything else. A season of the soul can feel like that last mile. What are you thirsty for right now?
The psalm’s heading says David wrote it in the desert of Judah. “God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.” (Psalm 63:1-2 WEB). The Hebrew for “flesh” is basar, the body itself. David thirsts for God with his body as well as his soul.
David has no water in the desert, and he names something better than life. “Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.” (Psalm 63:3-4 WEB). “Loving kindness” is chesed, God’s loyal love.
Spiritual Move: Body Prayer. Stand and lift your hands. Pray verse 3 aloud slowly, and keep your hands raised as long as you can. Then lower them and stand still for a minute.