Psalm 63: 1-4, 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. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
David is the author of this Psalm and is writing while hiding in the wilderness of Judea. He is wishing, longing, hoping to be back in Jerusalem worshipping. He earnestly seeks the Lord. His soul thirsts for the Lord’s presence.
You may feel like that right now. Wishing, hoping, longing for this quarantine to end and life to go back to what it used to be. Being isolated has caused us to be weary, in a way we may not have experienced before. David called upon the Lord in that weariness and said in verse 2, “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” David gazed upon the Lord, water for his soul in a dry and weary time. Proclaiming that the Lord is all powerful and worthy of all glory. Amidst his thirst, he knows that the Lord’s steadfast, covenant love is better than life itself.
In the Old Testament, raising one’s hands was a demonstration of prayers going to the Lord but also a posture that showed readiness to receive from the Lord. It showed that your trust was in God alone. This week, spend time earnestly seeking the Lord in his word. Behold who He is. Allow his love to bring relief to your weary soul.
ACTION STEPS with your kids: Read Psalm 63:1-4 with your kids. Ask them if they have had a time in their lives when they felt weary, or tired. Ask them what verse 2 tells us to do in these moments. Pray together asking the Lord to remind you each day of his power in your life. End your prayer by praising and blessing the Lord for who He is. Raise up your hands to the Lord! When you come to Him praising and asking, He will meet you.