WEEK 5 ● Day 3
READ PSALM 63
Now that we’ve learned the backstory to this week’s psalm, let’s dive in to learn more about finding God’s gifts in the midst of hardship. As our psalm opens, David is transparent about how exhausted he is. I can only imagine how bone-weary he must have felt, facing battles and leading hundreds of men, all while living a life on the run from a murderous king. The thing is, though . . . David’s words here move beyond pure exhaustion to something more.
As your eyes pour over his words, circle the words, verses, and phrases that show how tired David is.
After you’ve done that, underline the words, verses, and phrases that show how encouraged and joyful he feels.
1 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.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
I mean, did you basically underline this entire passage? It’s kind of crazy, right? How in the world can someone in such a tough spot, who is obviously so over his head and weary of being in this particular season, be expressing such joy?
1. What is your favorite phrase or section of this psalm?
I have several favorites, but verses 1 and 2 really speak loudly to my heart:
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.
2. Have you ever walked through a time when you felt like your soul was faint —as though you were stuck in a “dry and weary land” without water? How did God meet you in that time?
A few years ago, I couldn’t say these words. I was in survival mode. I was tapped out. I stopped earnestly seeking God, and in my exhaustion, I accidentally left Him behind. I wrote about it in my book Beautifully Interrupted:
We were still so new to this whole adoption thing and were suddenly thrown into more transitions as Ben [my husband] began traveling back and forth from San Antonio to Portland every month. . . . I look back on [this] as the most exhausting and overwhelming time of my life caring for and loving a four-year-old, a three-year-old, an infant, and our newest addition, a six-year-old who spoke almost no English. . . .
I remember collapsing onto the floor in the kitchen one afternoon and bursting into tears. As I sat there on the cold tile floor holding baby Imani, Anton and Laith both crawled onto my lap, cuddling and comforting me, while Ezekiel stared with wide eyes a few feet away. . . .
Lord, is this really what we’re supposed to be doing? You’ve got to give me more strength for this! I absolutely cannot do it on my own. That day was a turning point for me. I certainly wasn’t at rock bottom, but I was drowning. I needed to cling to Him tighter. I had to, or I wasn’t going to survive. . . .
Though the very essence of my soul wailed at the notion of being so low that my tiny children were compelled to crawl on the ground to comfort me, the reality was that I desperately needed their unyielding love while sobbing on that floor. And at that moment, God also bestowed their sweet tenderness to remind me of Himself. That His love is also unyielding and tender.
As I ugly cried on the floor, being cared for by my precious preschool-age children, God whispered the word firstfruits into my ear.
. . . Firstfruits? I asked, confused. Help me understand what You mean, Lord!
I knew that firstfruits are offerings of the first and best crops to God, which is often spoken about in the Old Testament. It was an offering given in acknowledgment of God’s abundant blessing. Definitely not giving Him what is left over, but rather giving Him the best of the best first. . . .
What was I giving Him? The leftovers. The leftovers of my time, my energy, and my heart. He was reminding me of the need to put Him first. Above everything. . . .
. . . I needed to lean into the Lord and live in a posture of humility. . . .
I felt the Lord direct me, saying to give my firstfruits during naptime. Rather than scurrying through the house cleaning up, doing laundry, and tackling the constant stream of dishes, I was called to first sit and be with Him. Then do my tasks after.
And it changed everything.
. . . Jesus loved me back to life. My season changed.
Somehow I was receiving a divine amount of ability and productivity. The Lord was multiplying my time, renewing and energizing me. I could see His hand in my life as my patience grew. Grace was extended toward our family and kindness was electrified. Magnified. I was more attentive and loving, and my tasks were not only being completed but being executed thoroughly, and well. And through it all, I confidently leaned on Him, knowing it was in His power, not my own, that it was all getting done.
. . . I’m not going to lie and tell you that I suddenly turned into Mother Teresa or walked around with a halo over my head, never complaining when the kids spilled their milk for the fourth time that day.
I still prayed daily that God would work in me to give me a good attitude, patience, and strength so that I wouldn’t lose my temper with my family because things weren’t as perfect as I wanted them to be. But as my time of intimacy increased, my whole being began to blossom with fruit. The storm that I felt was going to drown me instead made me stronger because it led me back to Him.[1]
Have you been in a similar place of feeling overwhelmed and tapped out? Life can be like a tsunami, crashing over you. The good, the hard —it’s all just too much.
3. How can you use both David’s perspective on joy and the principle of firstfruits to help in your current season . . . or in preparation for the next time life gets to be too much? List several ideas:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Joy is not something we can manufacture. But God can do something miraculous in us when we choose to offer Him the firstfruits of our lives instead of dragging ourselves to His feet when we’ve reached the end of ourselves. A few years ago, I heard Beth Moore say[2] something about how joy is a gift that’s handed to us by the Lord. It’s available —we simply need to let Him give it to us. As we see in today’s passage, David understood this. Even in the face of difficulty, he was able to still take joy from our heavenly Father, who leans down to place it into our weary hands —if we’re willing to take it.
Let’s end our time together in prayer. What might God be asking you to give Him? Or what might He be trying to give you?
Amen.