O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness.
I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more,
with cravings in my heart that can’t be described.
Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God!
I’m energized every time I enter
your heavenly sanctuary to seek more of your power
and drink in more of your glory.
For your tender mercies mean more to me than life itself.
How I love and praise you, God!
Daily I will worship you passionately and with all my heart.
My arms will wave to you like banners of praise.
I overflow with praise when I come before you,
for the anointing of your presence satisfies me like nothing else.
You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul.
Psalm 63:1-5 TPT
Have you ever experienced bursting a balloon because you tried to blow too much air into it? Or tried to squeeze the last ounce of soup into an already overflowing container? Or tried to push one more toy or shirt or blanket into that already overly expanded bag? Here’s the point: most things in our lives have limits. Our containers have limits. Our abilities have limits. Our physical performance has limits. But there’s one thing in our lives that has no limits. Our spirits have unlimited capacity to know God and experience His love!
My husband likes to say that God gives us eternity because that’s how long it will take us to know God. The reality is that though we are finite, God is limitless. And equally as true is that though we are finite, God gives us the capacity to have an ever expanding experiential knowledge of Him and His love.
David paints a beautiful picture of what a deep desire to know God more looks like. This is not merely knowledge about God; this is overflowing, comprehensive and intimate experience of God Himself. David demonstrates the soul’s ability to constantly access and insatiably desire more of God. I like how The Passion Translation (TPT) helps us to visualize these longings.
O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness.
I thirst with the deepest longings to love you more,
with cravings in my heart that can’t be described.
Such yearning grips my soul for you, my God! Psalm 63:1
At the same time David later concludes: “I overflow with praise when I come before you,
for the anointing of your presence satisfies me like nothing else.
You are such a rich banquet of pleasure to my soul.” Psalm 63:5
Longing and satisfaction. Our souls need the longing for and satisfaction of God’s presence. These affections are typically placed at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Yet this psalm demonstrates that with God it is not only quite possible to experience both at the same time, it seems to indicate that experiencing both is quite necessary. Our spirits need a constant circle of longing and satisfaction to gain intimate knowledge of God and experience Him more fully. The more we experience God, the more satisfied we become with Him and the more desirable He becomes to us. The more desirable He becomes to us, the more we long for Him. The more we long for Him, the more we are able to experience Him. And so on.
David describes this phenomenon in verses 6-8:
I lie awake each night thinking of you
and reflecting on how you help me like a father.
I sing through the night under your splendor-shadow,
offering up to you my songs of delight and joy!
With passion I pursue and cling to you.
Because I feel your grip on my life,
I keep my soul close to your heart. Psalm 63:6-8
A constant circle of longing, connection and satisfaction should be the norm in our lives. What does this look like in your life? Do you experience these patterns of longing, connection and satisfaction? Have your sons observed this in your life - not as lessons given but as real life examples they feel welcome to participate in? Our experiential knowledge of God needs to be both intimately personal and expanding into our community spheres. Do you pray this for yourselves and your children? As we pray together this week let us be mindful of this expansive need in our own hearts and souls. Let us pray that our sons experience this passionately as individuals and as a community. May God enrich all our lives with more of Himself.