Better Than Life

” O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.

I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.” (Ps. 63: 1-6 NLT)

When you read these words of David you can’t help but be moved by his expression of longing and love for the Lord. You get a glimpse into the heart of a man who has a very real love relationship with the living God. “I long for you, I thirst for you, I lie awake thinking of you;” these are words lovers use.

David goes on to say that the love of the Lord is better than life itself. In other words, he is saying that if he were to be deprived of God’s unfailing love, life would not be worth living. Lord, your nearness, your fellowship, experiencing your love is something I can’t live without.

Notice what this intimacy, this love inspires : WORSHIP. The  intimacy David shares with the Lord moves him to worship the Lord. He says,  “I will praise you, I will lift my hands to you, I will pray to you, I will sing to you.” Intimacy and worship go hand in hand. As we began to discover how high, how deep, how wide, and how long the love of God is, our hearts will naturally overflow with worship.

Jesus, I don’t want to just know about you; I want to know you.