Joy in the Fellowship of God
Psalm 63New King James Version (NKJV)
Joy in the Fellowship of God
A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 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.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
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.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
I heard someone say recently, “one of the problems with Christians today is we’ve stopped being hungry for God.”
I have always loved to eat and get cravings for certain foods. The problem is many times the foods I get hungry for are not good for me, either by themselves or how I like them prepared. And even though I know this, I still want them.
One of my all time favorites was my Grandmother’s (Lillie Hodge) fried chicken. I always looked forward to Sunday dinners after church, because she always fixed that for our family. And though it was chalked full of fat, carbs and calories, it was not good for me health wise, but I still craved it!!
We have substituted our craving of God’s Word and His blessings. We’ve replaced them with tangible things, that may give us the feeling that the void has been filled, but only temporarily. And when this happens there’s no room left for the Spirit of God to nourish our souls, that we so desperately need.
Many of you who are close to me know my diet does not include the nutritious vegetables that a body needs in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle. As a result of this, there are health issues that I have to combat with medication(s).
There is no substitute for God. There is no substitute for His salvation. How destitute spiritually do we have to get before we understand this?
When we diligently seek Him and receive His blessings then can we say, “my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness”.