The Strong One

O God, You are my God, early will I seek You
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary
To see Your power and Your glory
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul shall be satisfied...
Ps 63. 1-5a

This is a psalm of David while in the wilderness, and in the first line, the second word for God, in hebrew is El "the strong One" - awesome, just what you want to cry out when you are feeling weak. We live in troubled times and people are pretty pessimistic, and wishing it weren't so won't help anyone, BUT He is a very present help in time of need.

And where the soul goes (it thirsts), the flesh will follow (it longs)... and feels overwhelmed and heavy. And it seems to be a dry and thirsty land - our environment/economy/ circumstances - might be showing lack but God is able!! While He might allow a season of testing, it is NEVER in vain. He does and always will have you at the very centre of His heart and purposes! ("With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; BUT with EVERLASTING (Praise Him) KINDNESS I will have mercy on you" Is54). Lets not look to the land but to the Lord... to see His power and His glory. We need to believe Him and worship Him. Hello... He does His best work in times like this. He is wanting, to show Himself strong for you.

Then David gets his praise on! He is not silent! A great act of faith - to have an intentional, intense time before the throne (the sanctuary). I've found that at times like this, I really go from feeling weary to wonderful (Edit: by that I mean encouraged/strengthened). Nothing seems to have changed yet physically but I know that my God heard me and He is able. We have a loving God, its nuts to think that He is not moved when we cry out before Him. (When He was with his disciples in the boat, the storm did not wake or move Him, but their cry did - He is sensitive to our needs)

David looks, he sings, he lifts hands - he confesses what he knows is true, that he will see His faithfulness, His power, glory, lovingkindness, and be satisfied!!

May God be Huge in your life.