"God answers my prayers everywhere except on the golf-course."
Psalm 63
Seeking GodYou, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you Psalm 63:1
The Psalmist (David) compares his desire for God to a thirst on a hot day after a strenuous work-out. The reason he desires God is because he knows who God is: “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory” (v2). A prerequisite for desiring a closer relationship with God is to know who he is.
In the following verse he adds “your love is better than life”. In a world where we are judged by our performance and our income is based on our performance, it is natural and right for us to commit 100% to training and competition. But we must do it without losing sight of the thought that God’s love is better than any sporting achievement and than even life itself. It’s an amazing thought that every achievement and every aspect of life will end – even life on earth will end – but God’s love will last forever. Commenting on this Psalm, Colin Sinclair wrote: “Once you have seen God in his glory and discovered his love, nothing else will do”
David expresses the benefits of God’s love in another way: “I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help…”. Lying awake at night is so weary but remember God is there loving you.
This all sounds great but I have to confess that often I don’t earnestly seek God. I don’t look forward to meeting God in worship in the sanctuary, like David does. At times my spiritual life can seem a ritual more than a reality. If that is your experience, be honest with God. The following prayer may help.
“Lord, help me to get a bigger view of you so that I can trust you more*”.