BETTER THAN LIFE                                   Psalm 63:1–8

 1  O God, you are my God; ^tearnestly I seek you;

^umy soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in ^va dry and weary land where there is no water.

 2  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding ^wyour power and glory.

 3  Because your ^xsteadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

 4  So I will bless you ^yas long as I live;

in your ^zname I will ^alift up my hands.

 5  My soul will be ^bsatisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

 6  when I remember you ^cupon my bed,

and meditate on you in ^cthe watches of the night;

 7  for you have been my help,

and in ^dthe shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

 8  My soul ^eclings to you;

your right hand ^fupholds me.

Though Mary loved Jesus—life was hard, real hard. Two sons preceded her in death as did two grandsons, both victims of shootings. And Mary herself suffered a crippling stroke that left her paralyzed on one side. Yet, as soon as she was able she made her way to church services where it wasn’t uncommon for her—with fractured speech—to express praise to the Lord with words like, “My soul loves Jesus; bless His name!”

Long before Mary expressed her praise to God, David penned the words of Psalm 63. The heading of the psalm notes that David wrote it “when he was in the Desert of Judah.” Though in a less than desirable—even desperate—situation, he didn’t despair because he hoped in God. “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you . . . in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (v. 1).

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a place of difficulty, without clear direction or adequate resources. Uncomfortable situations can confuse us, but they need not derail us when we cling to the One who loves us (v. 3), satisfies us (v. 5), helps us (v. 7), and whose right hand upholds us (v. 8). Because God’s love is better than life, like Mary and David, we can express our satisfaction with lips that praise and honor God (vv. 3–5). By:  Arthur Jackson

PRAYER LINE: Jesus, I’m so grateful that I can praise You in the dry, desperate times of my life because Your love is better than life!

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How would you describe your attitude when you find yourself in a “desert season” of life? How can Psalm 63 help you to better prepare for such seasons? (ODB)