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; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Psalm 63:1-4
David went through many difficult days during his life. He spent years on the run from Saul who was trying to kill him. He was betrayed even by people who he had helped. He was a fugitive with no safe place to live. During his time hiding in the desert, David wrote a song describing what his heart wanted. He did not seek the throne that Samuel had prophesied he would have one day. He did not seek for a pardon from the king so that he could return home. David described the way in which his heart was focused on God alone. That was the great longing of his heart.
Desiring a close and personal relationship with God should be a top priority in our lives. A. W. Tozer wrote, “I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain.”
The more that we desire the things of God, the less attraction the things of the world will have to us. When we want other things more, it is an indication that there is something wrong in our hearts. Nothing can possibly compare to God, and anything we cling to that hinders our fellowship with Him should be abandoned.
