Seeking God in the Wilderness

To seek God is not to manufacture a new experience, but to remember the hesed He has already shown — and in that remembering, to thirst for Him once more.

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” (Psalm 63:1)

Psalm 63 was written in the wilderness of Judah. David was no stranger to the wilderness. He had passed through it fleeing from Saul; he had passed through it again fleeing from the rebellion of Absalom. This is not a psalm written in abundance. It is a psalm written in the midst of drought and want.

What is striking is that David’s first concern is not to escape the wilderness, but to find God Himself. He does not begin with “Remove my enemies.” He does not say “Restore my throne.” He simply cries, “My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee.”

Remembrance Gives Birth to Longing

The reason David seeks God in the wilderness is given in verse 2.

“To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.” (v. 2)

He seeks God in the wilderness because he has seen God in the sanctuary. David is not a man who has never encountered God. He is a man who has beheld the power and glory of God in the holy place, and it is that sight he longs to recover.

To seek God is not to manufacture something new. It is to remember the power and glory already seen in the sanctuary — the grace already given. And that remembrance gives birth to present longing.

His Lovingkindness Is Better Than Life

David goes deeper still.

“Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” (v. 3)

The word “lovingkindness” here is the Hebrew hesed (חֶסֶד). It is not mere kindness or goodwill. It is covenant love — love that does not change, love that is not earned by worthiness, but love that God has freely chosen to give.

David knew why he had ever met with God. Not because he was remarkable. Not because he was righteous. But because God had loved him first. His longing, therefore, does not rise from self-righteousness. It rises from one who has tasted hesed. Only the man who knows that God’s love is better than life can seek God even in the wilderness.

Satisfied in the Wilderness

And this longing gradually becomes satisfaction.

“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.” (v. 5)

The wilderness has not changed. Yet while the land remains dry, David’s soul feasts as at a banquet. Not because his circumstances have improved, but because God Himself has become his satisfaction.

Then night comes.

“When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.” (v. 6)

It is in the night that a man is most vulnerable. Loneliness presses in; fear grows large. Yet David remembers God through every night watch. This is not dutiful religion. It is the natural motion of love — thinking of the one you love. And the ground of that remembrance is certain.

“Because thou hast been my help.” (v. 7)

Looking back over his life, there is not a moment when God had not helped him — from the paw of the lion, to the face of Goliath, to the long years of wandering. God had never let him go.

Not I Who Held On

At last David confesses:

“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” (v. 8)

“Followeth hard” translates the Hebrew davaq (דָבַק) — to cling, to cleave. Yet David does not boast of his own grip. In the very breath in which he says he clings to God, he confesses that God’s right hand is upholding him.

This is what David has come to understand: it was not that he refused to let go of God — it was that God refused to let go of him.

The wilderness is not a place where the strength of our faith is put to the test. It is a place where the depth of God’s hesed is put on display.

Therefore, to seek God is not to manufacture a new experience, but to remember the hesed He has already shown — and in that remembering, to thirst for Him once more.

For Us Today

Our lives, too, are dry. There are relationships that remain unrestored. There is weariness. There is the murmuring heart. There is the temptation to stop, to give up, to simply let go.

How, then, can we seek God today?

Not by striving to produce a new spiritual experience. By remembering the grace of salvation already given. By remembering that we have not come this far by our own strength. By remembering that it was not we who held on to God, but God who has been holding on to us. And in that remembrance, to meditate once more on hesed.

Not because we are worthy, but because He loved us first. Not because we are righteous, but because He has saved us. Not because we are strong, but because He is even now leading us in paths of righteousness.

Remembrance becomes longing. Longing becomes praise. Praise becomes satisfaction.

Psalm 63 does not end with the wilderness coming to an end. David is still in the wilderness, yet he closes with this:

“But the king shall rejoice in God.” (Psalm 63:11)

To seek God is ultimately to come to the place of rejoicing in God Himself. It is not that we rejoice in God only after the wilderness is over. It is that when God Himself becomes our joy, we find that we can be satisfied even in the midst of it.

“O God, thou art my God.”

Questions for Reflection

1. Do you have a memory of meeting God? Is that memory giving birth to longing today?

2. What is your motive in seeking God — the resolution of your circumstances, or God Himself?

3. Where are you experiencing hesed today — the covenant love of God that is given not by your merit, but by His free choice?

4. Do you trust the right hand of God that is even now upholding you?