When our son, Xavier, was younger, business trips often pulled my husband away from home. Though his father called often, there were rough nights when the calls alone didnt comfort Xavier. To help soothe our son when he felt he needed his dad, Id pull out our photo albums as he prepared for bedtime. Id point out the images that showed them spending time together and ask, Do you remember this?
Memory after memory encouraged our son, who often said, I have a good daddy.
I understood Xaviers need to be reminded of his fathers love when he couldnt see him. Whenever Im going through tough or lonely times, I too long to know Im loved, especially by my heavenly Father.
David proclaimed his deep yearning for God as he hid from his enemies in the desert (Psalm 63:1). Remembering his personal encounters with Gods limitless power and satisfying love led him to praise (vv. 25). Through his most difficult nights, David could still rejoice in his dependable Fathers loving care (vv. 68).
During our dark times, when we feel as if Gods not there for us, we need reminders of who God is and how Hes demonstrated His love. Reflecting on our personal experiences with Him, as well as His actions recorded in Scripture, can affirm the countless ways our good Abba Father loves us.
INSIGHT
Do you ever wonder whether your faith could endure during hard times? Psalm 63 describes a relationship with God that is deep enough to sustain times so difficult thatliterally or metaphoricallywe experience life as a dry and parched land where there is no water (v. 1).
A faith that is long-lasting is one in which experiencing Gods love is so precious its better than life (v. 3). Such an intimate relationship is sustained through ongoing communication through the watches of the night (v. 6)a time which in the psalms points to vulnerable communication with God (see, for example, 4:4; 16:7; 119:55).
Through cultivating such a relationship with God, when hard times come we will have a rich history to remember and cherish (63:2, 6). In this way we can trust God enough to cling to Him (vv. 78), confident that Hell deliver us once more (vv. 911).