1 O God, you are my God,
      earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
      my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
     and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
     my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
     and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
     with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6  On my bed I remember you;
      I think of you through the watches of the night. Psalm 63:1-6 (NIV)

This is a beautiful love song to God, written by David when he was going through very tough times.  Even though he found himself in a dry and weary land with no water, he comforted himself with memories of God’s beauty, his glory, and his love; and David made the choice to praise God in spite of his circumstances. We can be certain that some of his comrades at the time would have him curse God because of all the turmoil he was having to deal with during these times of exile from his kingdom. 

Yet David had a storehouse of memories from which to draw encouragement, and he used them to full advantage. David had learned about the strength that always came to him when he sang praises to God. He had also learned to store away memories of times when he had been richly blessed by God so he could remember them as he lay upon his bed when life became difficult.

Have you been saving up memories of what God has done for you?  Are you able to sing praise to God, even when you are down?  One of the best remedies I have ever found for spells of depression is to sing along with Christian praise tapes.  Do you have Christian music at your fingertips to lift your spirits?  If not, buy some.  In the mean time, read from the Psalms–those were the songs David sang.  He wrote most of them.

Lord, bring to my memory those special times when I felt close to you on those days when discouragement wants to creep in on me.  Help me to draw closer to you moment by moment.

Copyright © 2008 by Janice Green

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.