Thirsting for God

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Text:  Psalm 143

Psalm 143:5-6

I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶ I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. 

(ESV)

As things begin to return to normal in many parts of the United States and the world, the scars, and consequences of what has occurred during the coronavirus crisis remain.  There are the physical scars of those who contracted the disease or know someone who did and possibly died as a result.  There are the emotional scars of separation from friends or family due to the need to shelter in place or live under quarantine.  There are also the economic scars caused by the loss of a job or business with little prospects of finding another one or seeing retirement savings disappear in a volatile market.  However, there are also positive consequences as most of us now have a greater appreciation for life, family, friends, and most of all liberty as we have experienced what it is like to lose or be separated from them.  During these times we can either complain or find comfort in something superior to any crisis which for Christians is the Lord and His Word, the Bible. 

Psalm 143 is a Psalm of David and included in the seven Penitential Psalms (Psalms 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143).  However, some theologians like Charles Spurgeon question its inclusion as a penitential psalm stating that it is, “rather a vindication of his (David’s) own integrity.”  (1)  While the psalms penitential nature is possibly questionable, it does represent a prayer of someone in crisis thirsting for and reaching out to God to deliver him from the crisis (Psalm 143:6).  Christians should always be quick to repent of any sin God reveals in their lives, but it is not sin to present our complaints to God for He knows our hearts.  The problem comes when we remain in the complaint instead of reaching out to God in faith, remembering what He has done for us, and His works and promises recorded in the Bible. 

While the time of the writing of Psalm 143 is unknown, some commentaries believe it may have occurred when Absalom rebelled against his father, David, and tried to kill him (2 Samuel 15-19).  During this time David was in both a physical crisis living under the threat of death and the emotional crisis of rebellion from his son.  This is not much different from the physical and emotional stress of an unseen virus and why we can learn much about what our attitude should be during this crisis from the words of the Psalm,  This psalm teaches us that we should,

1)      Pray to God (Psalm 143:1-2) – The psalm begins with David crying out to God for mercy and for God to answer in faithfulness and righteousness and not judgment for David understands no one is righteous before God (Isaiah 54:6; Romans 3:23).  This should be the first action of anyone who believes in Jesus as their savior.  Unlike David, we have the benefit of hindsight for we know God sent His son to die for our sins (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).  We also know that even though this world brings trouble, we follow the one who overcame the world, including death (John 16:33). 

2)      Present our complaint to the Lord (Psalm 143:3-4) – There is a theology out there that teaches the presenting of complaints to God represent a weakness of faith that will cause God not to listen to our prayer.  This theology is erroneous for God’s word encourages us to bring our burdens to Him for he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).  The Lord also knows our hearts (Psalm 38:9) and therefore knows our anxieties and fears so why not be honest with the Lord and bring them to Him. 

3)      Leave the complaints with the Lord and remember God’s good works and stretch out our hands to him as we thirst for deliverance by God (Psalm 143:6-7).  After presenting his complaint to God, David does not pick it up and take it with him but instead pauses to remember what God has done and the work of His hands.  This includes remembering what God had done for him with his many victories like his victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 17).  David also might have remembered The miracles of God recorded in Scripture like the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14).  While it is not a sin to make our complaints known to God, we are not to remain in our complaints but meditate on the promises and miracles of God recorded in Scripture as well as how God has delivered us personally in our lives, beginning with forgiveness of our sins by dying on the cross. 

4)      Declare our belief that God will deliver us from our crisis for we are His children (Psalm 143:7-12) – David once again cries to the Lord for a quick answer declaring his trust in Him as a place of refuge for His soul.  David concludes with Psalm 143:12 expressing faith God will destroy the adversaries of his soul for he is a servant of the Lord.  We too can have confidence in the delivering power of the Lord for we have the same power of the Holy Spirit within us that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11) and a glorious future of eternity with God (Revelation 21). 

Psalm 143 presents a pattern of how one thirsting for God should handle a crisis.  It begins with prayer which should be our first response, even a reflex action.  We then should honestly present our complaints to God for he already knows them but not dwell in the complaints but leave them with the Lord.  We should then declare in faith our belief that God has the power to take us through the crisis, knowing we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us and a glorious future of eternity with God. 

If you are reading this and do not know Jesus as your savior, I urge you to pray with me now and bring God into your life during this crisis to give you the strength to come through it,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

Next week we will begin a study of the Book of Joshua, studying the book as an illustration of one facing major challenges as he must lead Israel into the Promised Land.  We are beginning to emerge from this coronavirus crisis and can learn much from the courage Joshua found in the Lord as we return to normal so invite your friends to join this blog on Saturdays to participate in the study.  May God bless everyone reading this post. 

1. Spurgeon, Charles H. Psalm 143 Bible Commentary. Christianity.com. [Online] Christianity.com. [Cited: May 17, 2020.] https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=spur&b=19&c=143.