Ps 63:1–8
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.
What have you done lately? A question like this oftentimes hits us like a brick in the face. It brings to our mind everything that we have ever wanted to do and not done, but never what we have done.
A sense of doing, having done, and not having, owning, having owned, and not yet owning, of accomplishing, and having accomplished, and not yet accomplishing seems to haunt us like a monster in our bedroom closet. We look away to the other side of the room and hear a sound, we are sure it is there, but when we walk over to the closet to see, and turn on the light, nothing is there.
Why are we convinced that we haven't arrived until we have accomplished our major goals? Why isn't the present the goal? Are we committing the sin mentioned in James where we say tomorrow we will go, buy and sell...? Are we forgetting what Jesus said in Matt. 6:19-34 where he tells us that we can only serve God or money, and that God will take care of us?
What is this striving after accomplishments? Is it not idolatry? Not dressed in the plain robes of greed, sin and lust, but rather dressed in the fine clothes of purpose, meaning, desire and doing great things? Wandering to and fro within its cage as a trapped animal, longing for release and satisfaction, but ever doomed to stare out through bars and pace back and forth.
Always seeking, but never finding, always eating, but never full, always drinking, but never quenched, always longing, but never enjoying. This is a life that has already been doomed, this is a life of hell on earth.
But, God offers another way. As the preacher says in Ecc. 9:7-10:
7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
8 Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Enjoy what it is that God has given you. Stop seeking satisfaction in the world. Find your satisfaction in God and enjoy what He has given you.
This gets me to the passage in Psalm 63. The antidote for this idolatry:
1. God must be our God. Not our goals, plans, dreams, ambitions or whatever else could be. Not money, sex, drugs, toys, houses, cars, boats, sports, friends, etc. God must be at the center of all of our being.
2. We must seek Him. Not just half-heartedly, but must seek Him earnestly. Earnestly meaning seriously. We must make Him our supreme pursuit. We cannot use God as our excuse to find satisfaction elsewhere, but rather, God must be our serious study and serious goal. We must long for nothing but to know Him and love Him, to seek Him and search for Him. To have Him ever before us.
3. We must see Him as the supreme satisfaction of our souls. Not just our souls, but our whole being must thirst and long for God. I think this is the primary reason why we are never satisfied in our condition, because we are never actually satisfied. Satisfaction in this life can only come from one place...God. God must be the supreme joy and satisfaction. Dreams, ambitions, people, things should never be seen as ends to find satisfaction, but rather as means of knowing and loving God all the more. All things in this earth and heaven should be seen as the means to the end of worshipping, praising, glorifying, loving, enjoying and being completely satisfied with God.
4. We must seek God where He is to be found. We must seek Him daily in our actions, looking at and seeing how each action is related to His divine majesty. We must seek Him weekly in church, where we can corporately gather and worship God together. This is where the psalmist found Him.
5. We must see God for who He is. God is full of power and glory. God is the infinite. Our minds can never comprehend God (know Him exhaustively), yet we can truly apprehend God (know Him truly). God is the Infinite, and yet He is personal. He has chosen to speak to us through word (logos), and has done this fully through the Word (logos), Jesus Christ. As we gaze upon His works, we see His power, as we look even at ourselves, we see His majesty.
6. We must see that we are truly loved by God. God has loved us with a covenantal love, a steadfast love (hesed). We know that this great infinite God has brought Himself low, has humbled Himself to love us. Our sin, though great was put upon Christ, and because of this access has been given back to His presence.
The garden of Eden was a place of perfection and beauty, a place of work that was not toilsome, a place where full satisfaction could be had. After Adam had a covenant companion, he had fellowship to worship and love God together with another. Once the complete creation order was established, man had what He needed. Jesus came to restore that order, so we must live like it!
As a philosopher has said, "know thyself." In knowing yourself, you will come to know God better. Know that you are weak, and He is strong. Know that you are small and He is great. Know that you have been created for His purposes, and you were designed to be satisfied only in Him and nothing else. This is why you are not satisfied, be satisfied in Him!
Oh, God, you are my God, and I will seek you and search after you, but only as you pour your Spirit upon me and give me this desire. Help me to know that the world is fleeting, and it is good, but only in so much as I use it to make You my full satisfaction. Please flood me with your grace and love today, and help me to seek you above all silver and gold, riches and honor, or any accomplishments or other desires that are not you.
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