When the Heart Cries Out for God: A Look Into Psalmsنموونە

Day 4: Visions in the Night

Your unfailing love is better than life itself. . . . You satisfy me more than the richest feast. (Psalm 63:3, 5 NLT)

David was “in the wilderness of Judah,” perhaps in flight from Saul or his own son Absalom. He had quite a few wilderness experiences in his life—physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. In this case, in addition to whatever isolation he felt in his own heart, he was stuck in Judah’s wastelands.

At one level, this psalm is a straightforward lament about that dreadful time, and as he so often did, David turned his thoughts away from his enemies’ threats and filled his mind instead with expectations of deliverance and declarations of praise. He lifted his hands in prayer (Psalm 63:4), meditated on God throughout the night (63:6), and sang for joy under God’s care (63:7). He had taken charge of the movie screen of his mind, and it was playing scenes not of capture and defeat but of God’s good promises and intentions toward him.

On another level, this psalm could easily have been prayed by Jesus during his temptation in the wilderness—the same wilderness David wrote from. Jesus also clung to the Father spiritually, emotionally, and physically in that “parched and weary land” (63:1), and he likewise knew the fate of his enemies: Those plotting against him would come to ruin in the depths of the earth and the liar would be silenced (63:9, 11). Jesus, too, entertained no visions of defeat, only of ultimate victory.

Re-Envision Your Worst-Case Scenarios

That’s hard to do in the quiet, dark moments of our lives. Most of us have experienced how the night brings out our most alarming, anxiety-inducing thoughts. Worst-case scenarios seem so real when we’re lying awake with worry. But this is exactly when it’s most crucial to turn our thoughts to who God is, which David willed himself to do (63:6). We do have choices.

Like David, you’ll need to take charge of the movie screen in your mind and your internal narrator putting a fearful spin on your circumstances. Instead of fixating on the bad things that could happen, why not fixate instead on the good?

God is always doing something glorious, and he has already promised to work all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28). Considering his nature and his promises, we can expect “the richest feast” even in the desert. Focusing on his surprising blessings, no matter how much circumstances try to blind you to them, is a far more satisfying way to live.