A Renewed Longing For God

Psalm 63:1–4 NKJV

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. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.

A Renewed Longing for God

Psalm 63:1-4

Have you ever longed for something so much that you were willing do whatever it took to get it?

The Best Athlete

A successful business owner

Your Dream Home

Are we as passionate about pursing God and knowing God as we are about pursuing the things of this world?

Is there an intense desire and longing in our spirit to pursue God and to deepen our relationship with Him- no matter the cost?

In Psalm 63 we see the heart of David – a man who is longing and desperate for God. We see a man who in this moment, desires God above everything/everyone else.

As we examine our text my prayer is for God to stir in our hearts and give us a renewed passion to pursue God and to know Him in greater intimacy.

1. David’s declaration of faith (1)

The opening words of David reveal a man who had a personal relationship with God. Even though David was far from his place of regular worship – he was in the wilderness or desert of Judah.

There are only two possible periods in which this Psalm could refer to – a time when David was running from Saul in fear of his life or when he was fleeing from his own son Absalom.

V. 11 helps us to know that this psalm was written when he was running from Absalom, because in v.11 David refers to himself as king.

Even though David was fleeing for his life he did not let that affect his desire and passion to worship God.

David’s declaration of faith also reveals that he was not going to allow his past failures or his current crisis to cause him not to worship God.

David had not lived a perfect life – he had not been the best husband, father, or king and even now as he on the run to save his own life he never lost sight of the fact that God alone is always worthy of our worship.

Warren Wiersbe: “To be able to say “my God” by faith transformed David’s wilderness experience into a worship experience. There in the desert, he was hungry and thirsty, but his deepest desires were spiritual, not physical.

The Christian community needs a revival in the sense that we need a renewed longing and renewed passion to worship God.

Our deepest desire as God’s children should be to cry out with a loud voice – O GOD YOU ARE MY GOD!

1.David’s declaration of faith

2. David’s declaration of eagerness (1)

Not only does David desire to declare his faith in God- he also desires to seek God. The phrase, “early will I seek you” reveals an eagerness and longing in David’s heart to be with God.

For those who are not early morning people I have some good news for you today. The phrase “early will I seek you” can also be translated as “earnestly or eagerly will I seek you”.

James Montgomery Boice:

“The verb seek is an unusual verb that is related to the Hebrew noun for dawn, and it can be translated two ways, either as “to seek early” or “to seek earnestly.”

I believe the challenge before us as believers is not so much what time of day it is that we seek after God but rather that we seek God earnestly and eagerly each day.

A genuine passion to know God and worship Him should lead a believer to desire a daily encounter with the God.

There are many Christians today who have lost their passion and eagerness to seek God. They have grown weary in their faith. They have allowed the troubles and trials of this world to wilt their faith.

They have gotten so caught up in the daily routine of life that it has caused them to forsake the call of God to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. (Not just when things are good)

We need a genuine move of God in the church today that will redirect our focus back on God, that will stir the fire of our devotion, and will move us to pursue Christ as a beagle dog does when he is hot on the trail of a rabbit.

1. David’s declaration of faith (1)

2. David’s declaration of eagerness (1)

3. David’s declaration of seeking (1-2)

In these verses we see the heart of a man who is genuinely seeking after God. Here is a man who is longing for God and who will not be satisfied until he unites his heart and soul with God.

Just as a man who is hungry and thirsty will seek out water and nourishment for his physical needs – David is declaring that He is seeking after God because He knows that the Lord alone will satisfy his spiritual longings.

Note this - David wasn’t trying to meet his spiritual needs by trying to do more for the Lord.

Being busy for God does not mean that you are seeking after God.

David knew the only way to meet his spiritual need was to have a fresh encounter with God and this would come only through a time of personal encounter and personal worship.

David declared that he had looked for God in the sanctuary. The indication is that he looked for God until He found Him. So often we fall short of having a fresh encounter with God because we leave “the sanctuary” before we find God.

James Montgomery Boice:

“David longs for God, and therefore David is satisfied with God. God does not hold himself back from those who seek him. Rather he gives himself to them fully and in increasingly fuller ways.

1. David’s declaration of faith (1)

2. David’s declaration of eagerness (1)

3. David’s declaration of seeking (1-2)

4. David’s declaration of worship (3-5)

David reveals the only appropriate and biblical response we should have once we encounter God – We should worship Him.

David expresses his worship in two ways:

1. My lips shall praise You (3)

As God’s children we should never cease to give God praise. The Word of God affirms over and over that Our God is Worthy of all our praise and worship.

Timely reminders about why God is to be praised:

Our God is Holy.

Our God is Righteous.

Our God is Faithful.

Our God is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent.

Our God is Able.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

2. Hands lifted up. (4)

To lift our hands in worship symbolizes that we are fully surrendering our lives to God.

Lifted hands symbolizes that we are holding nothing back from God. We are fully committing ourselves to God- not only to receive God’s blessings but to give our lives in service for God’s kingdom.

Ronnie Floyd: “Lord, I give you 100% of me to 100% of You so that 100% of you will live 100% through me.”

When we lift holy hands before a holy God, we are declaring that the God of Heaven- Jehovah God – He is our God.

We are saying we belong to Him – we love Him, and we offer our life to Him as a living sacrifice.

Regardless of where you are in life – whether you are in a good season – a troubled season – a difficult season – or somewhere in between it all – God is always worthy to be worshipped.

Let me encourage you and challenge you to seek after God – desire to know Him - surrender to His Lordship and let Him live in you and through you for His glory.

If you don’t have a personal relationship with God through Christ, you can today by repenting of your sin and placing your faith in Christ to forgive you and to save your soul.

Have your drifted away from the Lord?

Today you can begin a fresh journey by surrendering your entire life to the Lord and committing to follow Christ with a renewed heart and steadfast faith.