He was one of God’s favorites.
He’d been anointed, chosen to be a king. But I’m sure that as David thirsted in the hot, dusty desert, he wondered what God was doing as he ran for his life hiding in the caves along the cliffs of an oasis called En Gedi. Can God’s good will involve such difficult and dangerous places?
Despite the circumstances, David found the time and the heart to write one of the most beautiful psalms to God. Psalm 63 is a wonderful example of what to do if you find yourself between a rock and a hard place.
David wrote,
“Oh God (Elohiym), you are my God (El).”
Elohiym is the Hebrew name for God who is the creator God. It’s employed in Genesis 1. “In the beginning Elohiym created the heavens and the earth.” It is also a plural noun used in singular form. This was often the case for Hebrew “majestic” nouns, but I also envision the Trinity wrapped up in these seven letters that form a name for our Creator.
David recognized God as his creator in another beloved psalm.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13,14).
You, my friends are wonderful. Wonderfully made for purpose.
When we find ourselves in those hard, dry places, those lonely, seasons, we often entertain thoughts of our unworthiness or we listen to those negative tapes in our heads believing that God will not use us or we heard Him wrong or He is angry.
But what if we simply say, “I know God created me; therefore, I am beautiful and good because all that He made is good–wonderful.”
“I am wonderful!” Go ahead, yell it! (And tweet it!)
[bctt tweet=”I am wonderful!” username=”wordsbyandylee”]
And then David said, “Oh Elohiym, my creator, my El.”
El is a shortened version of ‘ayil. It means god or God. When used as an adjective it means mighty. When it’s used of deity it means strength, anything strong, specifically a chief (politically) also a ram (from his strength); a pilaster (as a strong support) an oak or other strong tree–mighty man.
I love this. David was saying, “Oh Elohiym, my creator, you are my strength, the strong one in charge of my life.”
He is the ram.
How powerful is this when we think back to the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac, and the provision God sent was a ram–the foreshadowing of His own sacrifice of both His son and Himself on that cross.
David continues to write, ” . . . earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
What do we do when we are between a rock and a hard place?
Some of you won’t like this, but David’s words actually mean, “I get up early, before the dawn, to find you.”
The Hebrew word is Shachar. It can mean earnestly, but the definition uses “enquire early, rise (seek) early, in the morning.”
There’s nothing like watching the sunrise to renew our hope in the faithfulness of God. His mercies are new in the morning. Great is His faithfulness (Lam 3:22-23).
According to David, this is what we need to do when we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place:
- Declare God to be our creator therefore we are important and beautiful to Him.
- Declare God to be our God, our strength, our ram.
- Get up early in the morning to worship Him. Go watch the sunrise.
- And fill up with the Living Water.
David’s soul thirsted for God. Jesus promised to give Living Water. The Living Water is the Holy Spirit. Nothing can fill our soul like God Himself.
Join me Friday to find the 6 ways we can drink the Living Water based on Isaiah 12:3-6. If you want a sneak peak, you can watch my Facebook Live broadcast from Monday.
But until then, if you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, worship, pray, claim who you are as God’s child! And go watch the sunrise.
Digging Deep in the Desert,
Andy
