November 25, 2025 • 27 mins
Today I share one of my favorite Psalms of all time. During a painful season of my life, Psalm 63 became my lifeline. It helped calm my anxiety. It reminded me of God’s nearness. It brought about praise, despite pain.
As we walk through this powerful psalm, my hope is that if you’re navigating your own wilderness, you’ll be reminded that even in your most desperate moments, you will find yourself tucked under God’s wings, clinging to Him with all of your soul. And when you find that you can no longer hold on, you realize He’s been upholding you all along.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
During that season that I talked about earlier,
that season where I was gettingup and having panic attacks in
the middle of the night, therewere times when I would
literally get in my bed and Iwould lay the Bible open to
Psalm 63 on my chest.
And I would just close my eyesand then I would take the covers
and I would wrap them tightlyaround myself.
(00:22):
And I would say, I'm under yourwings.
I'm under your wings.
We are under God's wings.
He's got us.
We are in the safest place.
Yeah, you might be in awilderness right now.
You might be in a place ofhunger and soul thirst and
loneliness and pain.
And also you are tucked tightlyunder God's wings.
(00:47):
Hi, friend.
If you've ever wondered howGod's word connects with the
messy, broken parts of yourstory, you're in the right
place.
Welcome to Beauty and theBrokenness, where we have honest
conversations about the Bible,our real life struggles, and the
hope God brings for healing.
I'm your host, Teresa Whiting,an author, Bible teacher, and
(01:09):
trauma-informed life coach, butmostly a friend and fellow
struggler.
No matter who you are or whereyou've been, I'm inviting you to
encounter the God who is stillcreating beauty right in the
midst of your brokenness.
Well, welcome friends.
I am excited to share Psalm 63with you today.
(01:33):
This psalm makes me smile.
Every time I see it, I smilebecause I think back to the time
about 20 years ago when thispsalm was a lifeline for me.
Greg and I were going through areally difficult time.
We actually talked about it inour 30th anniversary episode.
If you ever want to go back andlisten to that, I'll link it in
(01:53):
the show notes.
But during that season, Istarted waking up at like 4 a.m.
And I would start shivering.
I would just shake and shake.
And I would get on the floor andcrawl to the bathroom and dry
heave.
And then I would crawl back tomy bed and I'd get back in bed
(02:14):
and I would just shiver andshake.
Now I didn't know it at thetime, but I was actually having
panic attacks.
My body was just revoltingagainst the stress and the
anxiety that was going on in myheart, in my mind.
And during that season, Imemorized Psalm 63.
I don't know if you ever dothat, if you're ever in a
(02:36):
difficult season and you choosea passage of scripture and you
meditate on it and you memorizeit and you just soak it in.
I can't recommend that highlyenough because Psalm 63 became
my lifeline.
I can't wait to dive into itwith you today.
(02:57):
So let's start by just readingthrough Psalm 63 together.
And I'm going to read this inthe English Standard Version.
And it says, A Psalm of Davidwhen he was in the wilderness of
Judah.
Oh God, you are my God.
Earnestly I seek you.
(03:18):
My soul thirsts for you.
My flesh faints for you, as in adry and weary land where there
is no water.
So I have looked upon you in thesanctuary, beholding your power
and glory, because yoursteadfast love is better than
life.
My lips will praise you.
(03:39):
So I will bless you as long as Ilive.
In your name I will lift up myhands, my soul will be satisfied
as with fat and rich food, andmy mouth will praise you with
joyful lips when I remember youupon my bed, and meditate on you
in the watches of the night, foryou have been my help, and in
the shadow of your wings I willsing for joy.
(04:02):
My soul clings to you, yourright hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy mylife shall go down into the
depths of the earth, they shallbe given over to the power of
the sword, they shall be aportion for jackals, but the
king shall rejoice in God.
All who swear by him shallexult, for the mouths of liars
(04:25):
will be stopped.
Now, if we go all the way backto the beginning of Psalm 63, it
talks about the fact that it wasa Psalm of David written when he
was in the wilderness.
Now, we've already encounteredthe wilderness in Hagar's story,
but we're revisiting it becausethe wilderness is something that
we go through often.
(04:46):
And um, Dustin Crowe and Italked about this on the
episode, Your Wilderness Isn't aWaste.
I wrote this quote down, which Ipulled off of Bible Hub,
actually, and it says, In thewilderness, God often encounters
his children in unique ways.
Midbar, now, Midbar, Midbar isthe Hebrew word for wilderness,
is far more than desolateterrain.
(05:09):
It is God's chosen environmentfor revelation, testing,
protection, and promise.
From Genesis to revelation, thewilderness stands as a vivid
reminder that the Lord forms hispeople in unpromising places,
sustains them apart from humanresources, and transforms
(05:29):
barrenness into fertile joy forhis own glory.
And I have found that to be truein my own life.
Nobody wants to go through awilderness season.
We don't ask for them, we don'tseek them out.
And yet, when we are in thewilderness, God does this
beautiful, amazing work in us.
Interestingly, I just thought ofthis.
(05:51):
Jesus did seek out thewilderness.
Like the Holy Spirit led himinto a wilderness for
temptation, for testing, forstrengthening, for growth.
And God leads us into wildernessseasons.
So I don't know if you're in oneright now, if you've just come
out of one, or if you're goinginto one soon, but probably one
(06:12):
of those three.
So verse one says, Oh God, youare my God.
Earnestly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you, myflesh faints for you, as in a
dry and weary land where thereis no water.
So just thinking about the factthat the first thing the
(06:33):
psalmist does is he turns toGod.
You are my God, like you'repersonal, you're mine, you're
with me in this.
I'm seeking you.
And I think about how often,when we're in a dry and thirsty
season, do we hold out our cupand we say to our husband, to
our friend, to our mom, tosomebody in our life, fill me
(06:56):
up.
Maybe you do that on your socialmedia.
You post things and you're justwaiting for those likes.
You're waiting for theaffirmation of other people, and
you're saying, fill me up, fillme up.
I'm so thirsty.
I love that the psalmist says,God, I'm turning to you.
I am thirsty.
My soul is thirsty.
But I'm I'm looking to you to besatisfied, to quench that
(07:19):
thirst.
It says, um, I'm in a dry andweary land where there is no
water.
Now, Psalm 63 is the one I havegiven to Leah in my scene Bible
study.
And I think Leah could so relateto this psalm, the weariness of
her heart, the weariness of herlonging, you know, always hoping
(07:40):
and looking for Jacob's love andnever getting it.
And interestingly, her nameliterally means weary.
And I think Leah so so couldhave related to this psalm.
And now we're we're gonna moveon to verse two.
All of that was just from verseone.
(08:01):
It says, So I have looked uponyou in the sanctuary, beholding
your power and glory.
And that looked upon literallymeans seen.
It's saying, God, I've seen you.
I have beheld, I have lookedupon your power, your glory.
That word glory has kind of lostthe weightiness that it really
(08:22):
and truly implies.
When we hear the word glory, youknow, we might think of like a
glorious sunset, or, you know,we sing glory to God in church.
But the word glory literallymeans weight.
It attracts and terrifies.
It's really a word that shouldbe reserved for God alone.
(08:43):
And he graciously manifests hisglory to us.
And the psalmist is saying, I'veI've seen you, I've seen your
glory, and you and I have seenit too.
When we are in those darkplaces, when we experience God's
presence, we're experiencingthat glory for ourselves.
(09:04):
And then we're getting to myfavorite verse, verse three.
Because your steadfast love isbetter than life, my lips will
praise you.
Now, that word, steadfast love,is the Hebrew word hesed.
That is a word that really andtruly has no English equivalent
because it refers to so manyaspects of God's character, his
(09:27):
loving kindness, loyalty,faithfulness, his mercy.
This word saturates thescripture.
Not only that, God uses it todescribe himself.
So in Exodus 34, we see thisbeautiful encounter between God
and Moses.
And Moses is saying, Lord, showme, show me who you are.
And it says in Exodus 34, I'mgonna read verses like five
(09:49):
through eight.
Uh, verse five says, The Lorddescended in the cloud and stood
with him there and proclaimedthe name of the Lord.
The Lord passed before him andproclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a
God merciful and gracious, slowto anger and abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness,keeping steadfast love for
(10:12):
thousands, forgiving iniquityand transgression and sin, but
who will by no means clear theguilty, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers on the children andthe children's children to the
third and fourth generation.
And Moses quickly bowed his headtoward the earth and worshiped.
God in his self-description usesthe phrase steadfast love twice,
(10:36):
that Hebrew word, Hesed.
And here the psalmist is saying,Because that steadfast love is
better than life itself, my lipswill praise you.
In other words, I'm in awilderness, I'm in a desperate
situation, but I know, I knowyour steadfast love.
And I know that it's better thanwhat this life is offering me.
(10:59):
And so my lips will praise you.
I'm gonna open my mouth and I'mgonna speak your praise.
I'm gonna sing your praise.
So we're um in the middle of amove right now, and I uh was
unpacking yesterday.
I spent the whole day unpackingand I put on my Spotify and I
was blasting my speakers andsinging at the top of my lungs.
(11:23):
I'm like, I don't know if thesenew neighbors are gonna be like,
what's going on in that house?
But there are times when yourheart acknowledges the goodness
of God and sees his steadfastlove.
And you just have to sing, youjust have to come out with it,
you just have to burst out withit.
And there are times when itfeels near impossible to even
(11:44):
speak a word of praise, to eventhink a word of praise.
And I want to argue that thosetimes are so precious when you
choose to praise God, when yousay, God, I believe you, I
believe your steadfast love isbetter than life.
And you you choose to sing, youchoose to praise God in those
(12:05):
moments, he actually willliterally lift your soul out of
the pit, out of the darkness.
He he pours his light on us whenwe sing praise to him.
And I hope you know by now thatI am not saying we forsake
lament.
I would never ever say thatthere isn't a place for lament.
(12:26):
There is, but there is also aplace for choosing to praise,
even in the midst of our pain.
Verse four says, So I will blessyou as long as I live.
In your name, I will lift up myhands.
We think about the significanceof names.
You know, the whole chapter onLeah, we talk about all the
(12:46):
names that she gave her sons andhow reflective they were of her
heart condition, of herlongings, of her desires.
And the psalmist is saying, Inyour name I will lift up my
hands.
That's where the praise is,that's where the power is,
that's where the glory is, inthe name of the Lord.
Verse five says, My soul will besatisfied as with fat and rich
(13:09):
food, and my mouth will praiseyou with joyful lips.
So that word soul.
So we're we're looking at mysoul, my mouth, my hands.
Like this is an embodiedexperience.
The psalmist is saying, with allof me, well, first of all, with
all of me, I'm thirsting, I'mlonging, I'm hungry, and with
(13:32):
all of me, I'm responding inpraise with all of who I am,
with my soul, with my heart,with my whole being.
Now remember, David is still inthe wilderness.
He hasn't gone out yet.
He's still in this difficulttime.
So the fact is, what is sobeautiful is God's presence.
So we can be in a wildernessseason, but if we are there with
(13:55):
the Lord, if we know that he iswith us and we are with him,
that's where praise can springfrom.
I want I want to keep readingbecause because this is so it's
it's all tied together.
Verse six when I remember youupon my bed and meditate on you
in the watches of the night, foryou have been my help, and in
(14:16):
the shadow of your wings I willsing for joy.
Okay.
I told you that verse three wasmy favorite, but I actually
think it's verse seven.
Because think about this.
David is saying, When I rememberyou on my bed and meditate on
you in the watches of the night.
When you are going through ahard season, what's the worst
part of the day?
The night, right?
It's like our head hits thepillow and the spiral begins,
(14:40):
right?
The thoughts, the what ifs, thewhat's gonna happen next, what
if this happens, the replayingof conversations, the projecting
of what you're gonna say in yournext conversation, right?
We we get in our beds and ourmind just starts to go and go.
And David is saying, I'm gonnaremember you when I'm on my bed.
(15:02):
I'm gonna meditate on you in thewatches of the night.
And I looked up, what is thewatches of the night?
Well, the night was um actuallydivided into three sections,
three watches.
So they have night watchmen.
The first session would be fromsunset to 10 p.m.
The next night watch would be 10p.m.
(15:23):
to 2 a.m.
And the last one would be 2 a.m.
to sunrise.
So we're basically talkingsunset to sunrise.
All of it.
That whole time when we aretempted to get in bed and stew
and oh, what's that word I'mlooking for?
It's like, what's that word?
Where you're just like goingover something over and over in
(15:46):
your head.
You probably know the word.
Why don't you text it to me oror email me and tell me the word
I'm looking for?
But you know what I'm talkingabout.
When you get in your bed andyour mind just is doing the
thing that we don't want it todo.
So he's saying, at that time,when I'm remembering you, that's
when my soul is satisfiedbecause I'm thinking of you,
because I'm remembering you.
And because you've been my help,you've been my aiser.
(16:10):
Ah, I love that word.
Aser, that is the word that Godused when he said, let us create
a helper fit.
That was the word, a help, anaid, one who comes to our
rescue.
That's exactly what that means.
It's he's saying, I'm gonnathink about you, and I'm gonna
think about the times and theways you have come to my rescue,
(16:32):
God.
And then this phrase, and in theshadow of your wings I will sing
for joy.
During that season that I talkedabout earlier, that season where
I was getting up and havingpanic attacks in the middle of
the night, there were times whenI would literally get in my bed
and I would lay the Bible opento Psalm 63 on my chest.
(16:56):
And I would just close my eyesand then I would take the covers
and I would wrap them tightlyaround myself and I would say,
I'm under your wings.
I'm under your wings.
I was in the process ofmemorizing Psalm 63, and I would
basically try to just imaginemyself tucked under God's wing.
(17:17):
I love that phrase.
I love that David is using itbecause you know the first time
this phrase shows up inscripture is in the book of
Ruth.
When Ruth meets Boaz, and Boazsays to her, May you be richly
rewarded by the God of Israel,under whose wings you have come
to take refuge.
(17:38):
And I just love that image.
And so a little fun fact, youknow, I love to tie things
together.
Boaz was David'sgreat-grandfather.
And I wonder if that's, youknow, if Boaz tucked Obed into
bed at night and said, You areunder God's wings.
And maybe Obed taught that toJesse, and Jesse taught that to
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David, and now David's teachingit to us.
And now I use it for myself.
We are under God's wings.
He's got us.
We are in the safest place.
Yeah, you might be in awilderness right now.
You might be in a place ofhunger and soul thirst and
loneliness and pain.
And also you are tucked tightlyunder God's wings.
(18:22):
It says, My soul clings to you.
My soul, everything in me isclinging to you, God.
And your right hand upholds me.
That is the hand of strength andpower and authority.
And it says, your right hand isholding me up.
It's holding me together.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, one morething about being under the
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shadow of his wings.
You think about how close thatis, the nearness that we have to
God in that place, in thatsafety.
I remember learning when my kidswere babies that when you hold a
baby on your chest for anextended amount of time, your
heart begins to beat at the samepace.
And I think about being underthe shadow of God's wings, like
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being that close to his heart,and that our heart would beat at
the same pace as his.
There's a calming sense of hispresence.
There's a safety and aprotection there.
That no matter what is going onaround me, I'm safe.
I'm safe here.
(19:26):
And in that place, in thatplace, the psalmist says, I will
sing for joy.
In other words, I'm gonna cryout, I'm gonna sing joyfully
because my soul clings to you.
In that place, not just am Iwrapped tight under your wings,
but my soul is clinging to you,and your right hand upholds me.
(19:46):
In other words, you're my sourceof strength, you're my help,
you're my power, you're mysupport.
God's right hand is used inscripture to show his mighty,
mighty power.
It says that his right hand ismajestic in power, it scatters
his enemies, it plants Israel inthe land, it assures our
(20:08):
protection.
And also, I think about whenJesus was on the earth and he
extended his hand toward people.
He lifted people with his hand,he lifted, he brought people
back to life with his hand.
He used his hands to give sightto the blind and to lift up the
(20:29):
lame.
And then ultimately, I love tothink about the hand of God when
we are with him one day.
And he wipes every tear from oureyes with that righteous, right
hand.
Then we get into the part of thepsalm that's kind of um, I don't
want to call it imprecatorybecause he's not like calling
down curses on his enemies, buthe's he's acknowledging the
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truth that those who seek todestroy my life will go down
into the depths of the earth.
They shall be given over to thepower of the sword, they shall
be a portion for jackals.
In other words, um, those whoare after me, those who are
attacking me, they're going tobe the ones that come to ruin.
David was running for his lifeat this time, and actually, God
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did defeat his enemies for him.
And we don't always havephysical enemies, we don't
always have people in our lives.
Sometimes we do.
And the good news is God is aGod of justice.
He will make all, he will rightevery wrong at some point,
either on this earth or afterjudgment comes, after this time
(21:38):
on earth is over.
But God will right every wrong.
He is a God that does not standor allow injustice to just slip
by under the radar.
I think ultimately what David issaying is my enemies are not
going to triumph over me.
And friends, that is somethingwe can say with absolute
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confidence that our enemies donot get the last word.
The last word is that we,because of the blood of Jesus,
we walk in victory.
We walk in hope, in eternallife, in the assurance that one
day we are going to be with Godforever and ever.
(22:21):
And right now, whatever we'rewalking through, we are not
alone.
He sees, he cares, he knows, andhe is walking with us.
And then verse 11 ends with, butthe king, that's David, he was
the king at the time, shallrejoice in God.
In other words, he's saying, I'mgonna rejoice.
Yeah, things are tough, but I amgoing to rejoice in God.
(22:46):
All who swear by him shallexalt.
And then I love how it ends thatfor the mouths of liars will be
stopped.
And literally, in Hebrew, thatmeans will be shut up.
In other words, the lies, thedeception, the trickery, that
does not get the last word.
(23:07):
God is going to shut that up andhe is going to proclaim truth
and honesty and integrity.
God isn't just gonna refutefalsehood, he's going to lock it
down.
He's going to clamp shut everylying mouth eventually.
Oh my goodness, I can't wait forthat day.
(23:28):
One one thing that I just hateis lying.
I hate the thought of somebodytelling me something and not
being able to trust that it'strue.
And we never have to worry aboutthat with God.
And the good news is he is goingto shut the mouths of every liar
and his truth is going toprevail.
(23:50):
So Psalm 63 is obviously one ofmy favorites.
And I hope you will take thetime to just look over it,
meditate on it, even memorizeit.
If you're looking for a longerpassage of scripture to
memorize, like more than justone verse or two verses, this is
a fabulous thing to memorize.
I so often I've come back to itover and over throughout my
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life.
I have used this psalm as asource of comfort and
encouragement and hope.
I think about Leah.
So Psalm 63 is going with Leahin the scene study.
And I love to imagine her thatshe understood and lived these
truths.
That Leah understood thatbecause your steadfast love is
(24:36):
better than life, my lips willpraise you.
I think about her naming Judahand saying, This time I will
praise the Lord.
I think, I think she came tounderstand that though her life
was not pleasant, God'ssteadfast love was.
She chose to bless his name.
(24:57):
When it says, My soul issatisfied with marrow and
fatness, my mouth will offerpraises when I remember you on
my bed.
I think of so many lonelynights.
I'm sure Leah did not sleep withJacob most of the time.
And I think of her on her bed atnight and going through the
things that she walked through,directing her heart, directing
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her soul, her mind to the Lord.
I know that he was her help.
I hope that she found herselfunder the shadow of his wings.
And that is my prayer for you.
That's my prayer for everybodywho is listening to this
podcast.
That you will know the steadfastlove of God, that you will let
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it satisfy your heart, despiteyour unfulfilled longings,
despite your wilderness season,that when you lay in bed at
night, you find yourselfclinging to the only one who can
uphold you.
I pray that as your soul issatisfied in him, you'll have
the strength to offer joyfulpraise, and that you will know
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what it feels like to beenfolded under the shadow of his
wings.
And when you do, you will beable to say, like Leah, this
time I will praise the Lord.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on Beauty in the
Brokenness.
(26:24):
To find anything I mentioned onthe episode, go to
TeresaWiting.com slash listen,which is where you can find the
show notes.
So a couple times during thisepisode, I refer to my Bible
study scene that I am in themidst of writing.
And you can, if you areinterested in getting seen, you
(26:45):
can sign up to be on my prayerteam and you will get updates as
that study progresses.
I even have some of my listenersgive me feedback as I work
through the study, as I workthrough editing and refining
chapters.
If you'd like to be a part ofthat prayer team, I'd love to
have you and you can sign upthrough the link in the show
(27:05):
notes.
In closing, I want to leave youwith this prayer from number
six, twenty four.
The Lord make his face shine onyou and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face towardyou and give you peace.
During that season that I talked about earlier,
that season where I was gettingup and having panic attacks in
the middle of the night, therewere times when I would
literally get in my bed and Iwould lay the Bible open to
Psalm 63 on my chest.
And I would just close my eyesand then I would take the covers
and I would wrap them tightlyaround myself.
(00:22):
And I would say, I'm under yourwings.
I'm under your wings.
We are under God's wings.
He's got us.
We are in the safest place.
Yeah, you might be in awilderness right now.
You might be in a place ofhunger and soul thirst and
loneliness and pain.
And also you are tucked tightlyunder God's wings.
(00:47):
Hi, friend.
If you've ever wondered howGod's word connects with the
messy, broken parts of yourstory, you're in the right
place.
Welcome to Beauty and theBrokenness, where we have honest
conversations about the Bible,our real life struggles, and the
hope God brings for healing.
I'm your host, Teresa Whiting,an author, Bible teacher, and
(01:09):
trauma-informed life coach, butmostly a friend and fellow
struggler.
No matter who you are or whereyou've been, I'm inviting you to
encounter the God who is stillcreating beauty right in the
midst of your brokenness.
Well, welcome friends.
I am excited to share Psalm 63with you today.
(01:33):
This psalm makes me smile.
Every time I see it, I smilebecause I think back to the time
about 20 years ago when thispsalm was a lifeline for me.
Greg and I were going through areally difficult time.
We actually talked about it inour 30th anniversary episode.
If you ever want to go back andlisten to that, I'll link it in
(01:53):
the show notes.
But during that season, Istarted waking up at like 4 a.m.
And I would start shivering.
I would just shake and shake.
And I would get on the floor andcrawl to the bathroom and dry
heave.
And then I would crawl back tomy bed and I'd get back in bed
(02:14):
and I would just shiver andshake.
Now I didn't know it at thetime, but I was actually having
panic attacks.
My body was just revoltingagainst the stress and the
anxiety that was going on in myheart, in my mind.
And during that season, Imemorized Psalm 63.
I don't know if you ever dothat, if you're ever in a
(02:36):
difficult season and you choosea passage of scripture and you
meditate on it and you memorizeit and you just soak it in.
I can't recommend that highlyenough because Psalm 63 became
my lifeline.
I can't wait to dive into itwith you today.
(02:57):
So let's start by just readingthrough Psalm 63 together.
And I'm going to read this inthe English Standard Version.
And it says, A Psalm of Davidwhen he was in the wilderness of
Judah.
Oh God, you are my God.
Earnestly I seek you.
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My soul thirsts for you.
My flesh faints for you, as in adry and weary land where there
is no water.
So I have looked upon you in thesanctuary, beholding your power
and glory, because yoursteadfast love is better than
life.
My lips will praise you.
(03:39):
So I will bless you as long as Ilive.
In your name I will lift up myhands, my soul will be satisfied
as with fat and rich food, andmy mouth will praise you with
joyful lips when I remember youupon my bed, and meditate on you
in the watches of the night, foryou have been my help, and in
the shadow of your wings I willsing for joy.
(04:02):
My soul clings to you, yourright hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy mylife shall go down into the
depths of the earth, they shallbe given over to the power of
the sword, they shall be aportion for jackals, but the
king shall rejoice in God.
All who swear by him shallexult, for the mouths of liars
(04:25):
will be stopped.
Now, if we go all the way backto the beginning of Psalm 63, it
talks about the fact that it wasa Psalm of David written when he
was in the wilderness.
Now, we've already encounteredthe wilderness in Hagar's story,
but we're revisiting it becausethe wilderness is something that
we go through often.
(04:46):
And um, Dustin Crowe and Italked about this on the
episode, Your Wilderness Isn't aWaste.
I wrote this quote down, which Ipulled off of Bible Hub,
actually, and it says, In thewilderness, God often encounters
his children in unique ways.
Midbar, now, Midbar, Midbar isthe Hebrew word for wilderness,
is far more than desolateterrain.
(05:09):
It is God's chosen environmentfor revelation, testing,
protection, and promise.
From Genesis to revelation, thewilderness stands as a vivid
reminder that the Lord forms hispeople in unpromising places,
sustains them apart from humanresources, and transforms
(05:29):
barrenness into fertile joy forhis own glory.
And I have found that to be truein my own life.
Nobody wants to go through awilderness season.
We don't ask for them, we don'tseek them out.
And yet, when we are in thewilderness, God does this
beautiful, amazing work in us.
Interestingly, I just thought ofthis.
(05:51):
Jesus did seek out thewilderness.
Like the Holy Spirit led himinto a wilderness for
temptation, for testing, forstrengthening, for growth.
And God leads us into wildernessseasons.
So I don't know if you're in oneright now, if you've just come
out of one, or if you're goinginto one soon, but probably one
(06:12):
of those three.
So verse one says, Oh God, youare my God.
Earnestly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you, myflesh faints for you, as in a
dry and weary land where thereis no water.
So just thinking about the factthat the first thing the
(06:33):
psalmist does is he turns toGod.
You are my God, like you'repersonal, you're mine, you're
with me in this.
I'm seeking you.
And I think about how often,when we're in a dry and thirsty
season, do we hold out our cupand we say to our husband, to
our friend, to our mom, tosomebody in our life, fill me
(06:56):
up.
Maybe you do that on your socialmedia.
You post things and you're justwaiting for those likes.
You're waiting for theaffirmation of other people, and
you're saying, fill me up, fillme up.
I'm so thirsty.
I love that the psalmist says,God, I'm turning to you.
I am thirsty.
My soul is thirsty.
But I'm I'm looking to you to besatisfied, to quench that
(07:19):
thirst.
It says, um, I'm in a dry andweary land where there is no
water.
Now, Psalm 63 is the one I havegiven to Leah in my scene Bible
study.
And I think Leah could so relateto this psalm, the weariness of
her heart, the weariness of herlonging, you know, always hoping
(07:40):
and looking for Jacob's love andnever getting it.
And interestingly, her nameliterally means weary.
And I think Leah so so couldhave related to this psalm.
And now we're we're gonna moveon to verse two.
All of that was just from verseone.
(08:01):
It says, So I have looked uponyou in the sanctuary, beholding
your power and glory.
And that looked upon literallymeans seen.
It's saying, God, I've seen you.
I have beheld, I have lookedupon your power, your glory.
That word glory has kind of lostthe weightiness that it really
(08:22):
and truly implies.
When we hear the word glory, youknow, we might think of like a
glorious sunset, or, you know,we sing glory to God in church.
But the word glory literallymeans weight.
It attracts and terrifies.
It's really a word that shouldbe reserved for God alone.
(08:43):
And he graciously manifests hisglory to us.
And the psalmist is saying, I'veI've seen you, I've seen your
glory, and you and I have seenit too.
When we are in those darkplaces, when we experience God's
presence, we're experiencingthat glory for ourselves.
(09:04):
And then we're getting to myfavorite verse, verse three.
Because your steadfast love isbetter than life, my lips will
praise you.
Now, that word, steadfast love,is the Hebrew word hesed.
That is a word that really andtruly has no English equivalent
because it refers to so manyaspects of God's character, his
(09:27):
loving kindness, loyalty,faithfulness, his mercy.
This word saturates thescripture.
Not only that, God uses it todescribe himself.
So in Exodus 34, we see thisbeautiful encounter between God
and Moses.
And Moses is saying, Lord, showme, show me who you are.
And it says in Exodus 34, I'mgonna read verses like five
(09:49):
through eight.
Uh, verse five says, The Lorddescended in the cloud and stood
with him there and proclaimedthe name of the Lord.
The Lord passed before him andproclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a
God merciful and gracious, slowto anger and abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness,keeping steadfast love for
(10:12):
thousands, forgiving iniquityand transgression and sin, but
who will by no means clear theguilty, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers on the children andthe children's children to the
third and fourth generation.
And Moses quickly bowed his headtoward the earth and worshiped.
God in his self-description usesthe phrase steadfast love twice,
(10:36):
that Hebrew word, Hesed.
And here the psalmist is saying,Because that steadfast love is
better than life itself, my lipswill praise you.
In other words, I'm in awilderness, I'm in a desperate
situation, but I know, I knowyour steadfast love.
And I know that it's better thanwhat this life is offering me.
(10:59):
And so my lips will praise you.
I'm gonna open my mouth and I'mgonna speak your praise.
I'm gonna sing your praise.
So we're um in the middle of amove right now, and I uh was
unpacking yesterday.
I spent the whole day unpackingand I put on my Spotify and I
was blasting my speakers andsinging at the top of my lungs.
(11:23):
I'm like, I don't know if thesenew neighbors are gonna be like,
what's going on in that house?
But there are times when yourheart acknowledges the goodness
of God and sees his steadfastlove.
And you just have to sing, youjust have to come out with it,
you just have to burst out withit.
And there are times when itfeels near impossible to even
(11:44):
speak a word of praise, to eventhink a word of praise.
And I want to argue that thosetimes are so precious when you
choose to praise God, when yousay, God, I believe you, I
believe your steadfast love isbetter than life.
And you you choose to sing, youchoose to praise God in those
(12:05):
moments, he actually willliterally lift your soul out of
the pit, out of the darkness.
He he pours his light on us whenwe sing praise to him.
And I hope you know by now thatI am not saying we forsake
lament.
I would never ever say thatthere isn't a place for lament.
(12:26):
There is, but there is also aplace for choosing to praise,
even in the midst of our pain.
Verse four says, So I will blessyou as long as I live.
In your name, I will lift up myhands.
We think about the significanceof names.
You know, the whole chapter onLeah, we talk about all the
(12:46):
names that she gave her sons andhow reflective they were of her
heart condition, of herlongings, of her desires.
And the psalmist is saying, Inyour name I will lift up my
hands.
That's where the praise is,that's where the power is,
that's where the glory is, inthe name of the Lord.
Verse five says, My soul will besatisfied as with fat and rich
(13:09):
food, and my mouth will praiseyou with joyful lips.
So that word soul.
So we're we're looking at mysoul, my mouth, my hands.
Like this is an embodiedexperience.
The psalmist is saying, with allof me, well, first of all, with
all of me, I'm thirsting, I'mlonging, I'm hungry, and with
(13:32):
all of me, I'm responding inpraise with all of who I am,
with my soul, with my heart,with my whole being.
Now remember, David is still inthe wilderness.
He hasn't gone out yet.
He's still in this difficulttime.
So the fact is, what is sobeautiful is God's presence.
So we can be in a wildernessseason, but if we are there with
(13:55):
the Lord, if we know that he iswith us and we are with him,
that's where praise can springfrom.
I want I want to keep readingbecause because this is so it's
it's all tied together.
Verse six when I remember youupon my bed and meditate on you
in the watches of the night, foryou have been my help, and in
(14:16):
the shadow of your wings I willsing for joy.
Okay.
I told you that verse three wasmy favorite, but I actually
think it's verse seven.
Because think about this.
David is saying, When I rememberyou on my bed and meditate on
you in the watches of the night.
When you are going through ahard season, what's the worst
part of the day?
The night, right?
It's like our head hits thepillow and the spiral begins,
(14:40):
right?
The thoughts, the what ifs, thewhat's gonna happen next, what
if this happens, the replayingof conversations, the projecting
of what you're gonna say in yournext conversation, right?
We we get in our beds and ourmind just starts to go and go.
And David is saying, I'm gonnaremember you when I'm on my bed.
(15:02):
I'm gonna meditate on you in thewatches of the night.
And I looked up, what is thewatches of the night?
Well, the night was um actuallydivided into three sections,
three watches.
So they have night watchmen.
The first session would be fromsunset to 10 p.m.
The next night watch would be 10p.m.
(15:23):
to 2 a.m.
And the last one would be 2 a.m.
to sunrise.
So we're basically talkingsunset to sunrise.
All of it.
That whole time when we aretempted to get in bed and stew
and oh, what's that word I'mlooking for?
It's like, what's that word?
Where you're just like goingover something over and over in
(15:46):
your head.
You probably know the word.
Why don't you text it to me oror email me and tell me the word
I'm looking for?
But you know what I'm talkingabout.
When you get in your bed andyour mind just is doing the
thing that we don't want it todo.
So he's saying, at that time,when I'm remembering you, that's
when my soul is satisfiedbecause I'm thinking of you,
because I'm remembering you.
And because you've been my help,you've been my aiser.
(16:10):
Ah, I love that word.
Aser, that is the word that Godused when he said, let us create
a helper fit.
That was the word, a help, anaid, one who comes to our
rescue.
That's exactly what that means.
It's he's saying, I'm gonnathink about you, and I'm gonna
think about the times and theways you have come to my rescue,
(16:32):
God.
And then this phrase, and in theshadow of your wings I will sing
for joy.
During that season that I talkedabout earlier, that season where
I was getting up and havingpanic attacks in the middle of
the night, there were times whenI would literally get in my bed
and I would lay the Bible opento Psalm 63 on my chest.
(16:56):
And I would just close my eyesand then I would take the covers
and I would wrap them tightlyaround myself and I would say,
I'm under your wings.
I'm under your wings.
I was in the process ofmemorizing Psalm 63, and I would
basically try to just imaginemyself tucked under God's wing.
(17:17):
I love that phrase.
I love that David is using itbecause you know the first time
this phrase shows up inscripture is in the book of
Ruth.
When Ruth meets Boaz, and Boazsays to her, May you be richly
rewarded by the God of Israel,under whose wings you have come
to take refuge.
(17:38):
And I just love that image.
And so a little fun fact, youknow, I love to tie things
together.
Boaz was David'sgreat-grandfather.
And I wonder if that's, youknow, if Boaz tucked Obed into
bed at night and said, You areunder God's wings.
And maybe Obed taught that toJesse, and Jesse taught that to
(17:58):
David, and now David's teachingit to us.
And now I use it for myself.
We are under God's wings.
He's got us.
We are in the safest place.
Yeah, you might be in awilderness right now.
You might be in a place ofhunger and soul thirst and
loneliness and pain.
And also you are tucked tightlyunder God's wings.
(18:22):
It says, My soul clings to you.
My soul, everything in me isclinging to you, God.
And your right hand upholds me.
That is the hand of strength andpower and authority.
And it says, your right hand isholding me up.
It's holding me together.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, one morething about being under the
(18:43):
shadow of his wings.
You think about how close thatis, the nearness that we have to
God in that place, in thatsafety.
I remember learning when my kidswere babies that when you hold a
baby on your chest for anextended amount of time, your
heart begins to beat at the samepace.
And I think about being underthe shadow of God's wings, like
(19:06):
being that close to his heart,and that our heart would beat at
the same pace as his.
There's a calming sense of hispresence.
There's a safety and aprotection there.
That no matter what is going onaround me, I'm safe.
I'm safe here.
(19:26):
And in that place, in thatplace, the psalmist says, I will
sing for joy.
In other words, I'm gonna cryout, I'm gonna sing joyfully
because my soul clings to you.
In that place, not just am Iwrapped tight under your wings,
but my soul is clinging to you,and your right hand upholds me.
(19:46):
In other words, you're my sourceof strength, you're my help,
you're my power, you're mysupport.
God's right hand is used inscripture to show his mighty,
mighty power.
It says that his right hand ismajestic in power, it scatters
his enemies, it plants Israel inthe land, it assures our
(20:08):
protection.
And also, I think about whenJesus was on the earth and he
extended his hand toward people.
He lifted people with his hand,he lifted, he brought people
back to life with his hand.
He used his hands to give sightto the blind and to lift up the
(20:29):
lame.
And then ultimately, I love tothink about the hand of God when
we are with him one day.
And he wipes every tear from oureyes with that righteous, right
hand.
Then we get into the part of thepsalm that's kind of um, I don't
want to call it imprecatorybecause he's not like calling
down curses on his enemies, buthe's he's acknowledging the
(20:52):
truth that those who seek todestroy my life will go down
into the depths of the earth.
They shall be given over to thepower of the sword, they shall
be a portion for jackals.
In other words, um, those whoare after me, those who are
attacking me, they're going tobe the ones that come to ruin.
David was running for his lifeat this time, and actually, God
(21:16):
did defeat his enemies for him.
And we don't always havephysical enemies, we don't
always have people in our lives.
Sometimes we do.
And the good news is God is aGod of justice.
He will make all, he will rightevery wrong at some point,
either on this earth or afterjudgment comes, after this time
(21:38):
on earth is over.
But God will right every wrong.
He is a God that does not standor allow injustice to just slip
by under the radar.
I think ultimately what David issaying is my enemies are not
going to triumph over me.
And friends, that is somethingwe can say with absolute
(21:59):
confidence that our enemies donot get the last word.
The last word is that we,because of the blood of Jesus,
we walk in victory.
We walk in hope, in eternallife, in the assurance that one
day we are going to be with Godforever and ever.
(22:21):
And right now, whatever we'rewalking through, we are not
alone.
He sees, he cares, he knows, andhe is walking with us.
And then verse 11 ends with, butthe king, that's David, he was
the king at the time, shallrejoice in God.
In other words, he's saying, I'mgonna rejoice.
Yeah, things are tough, but I amgoing to rejoice in God.
(22:46):
All who swear by him shallexalt.
And then I love how it ends thatfor the mouths of liars will be
stopped.
And literally, in Hebrew, thatmeans will be shut up.
In other words, the lies, thedeception, the trickery, that
does not get the last word.
(23:07):
God is going to shut that up andhe is going to proclaim truth
and honesty and integrity.
God isn't just gonna refutefalsehood, he's going to lock it
down.
He's going to clamp shut everylying mouth eventually.
Oh my goodness, I can't wait forthat day.
(23:28):
One one thing that I just hateis lying.
I hate the thought of somebodytelling me something and not
being able to trust that it'strue.
And we never have to worry aboutthat with God.
And the good news is he is goingto shut the mouths of every liar
and his truth is going toprevail.
(23:50):
So Psalm 63 is obviously one ofmy favorites.
And I hope you will take thetime to just look over it,
meditate on it, even memorizeit.
If you're looking for a longerpassage of scripture to
memorize, like more than justone verse or two verses, this is
a fabulous thing to memorize.
I so often I've come back to itover and over throughout my
(24:12):
life.
I have used this psalm as asource of comfort and
encouragement and hope.
I think about Leah.
So Psalm 63 is going with Leahin the scene study.
And I love to imagine her thatshe understood and lived these
truths.
That Leah understood thatbecause your steadfast love is
(24:36):
better than life, my lips willpraise you.
I think about her naming Judahand saying, This time I will
praise the Lord.
I think, I think she came tounderstand that though her life
was not pleasant, God'ssteadfast love was.
She chose to bless his name.
(24:57):
When it says, My soul issatisfied with marrow and
fatness, my mouth will offerpraises when I remember you on
my bed.
I think of so many lonelynights.
I'm sure Leah did not sleep withJacob most of the time.
And I think of her on her bed atnight and going through the
things that she walked through,directing her heart, directing
(25:20):
her soul, her mind to the Lord.
I know that he was her help.
I hope that she found herselfunder the shadow of his wings.
And that is my prayer for you.
That's my prayer for everybodywho is listening to this
podcast.
That you will know the steadfastlove of God, that you will let
(25:40):
it satisfy your heart, despiteyour unfulfilled longings,
despite your wilderness season,that when you lay in bed at
night, you find yourselfclinging to the only one who can
uphold you.
I pray that as your soul issatisfied in him, you'll have
the strength to offer joyfulpraise, and that you will know
(26:04):
what it feels like to beenfolded under the shadow of his
wings.
And when you do, you will beable to say, like Leah, this
time I will praise the Lord.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on Beauty in the
Brokenness.
(26:24):
To find anything I mentioned onthe episode, go to
TeresaWiting.com slash listen,which is where you can find the
show notes.
So a couple times during thisepisode, I refer to my Bible
study scene that I am in themidst of writing.
And you can, if you areinterested in getting seen, you
(26:45):
can sign up to be on my prayerteam and you will get updates as
that study progresses.
I even have some of my listenersgive me feedback as I work
through the study, as I workthrough editing and refining
chapters.
If you'd like to be a part ofthat prayer team, I'd love to
have you and you can sign upthrough the link in the show
(27:05):
notes.
In closing, I want to leave youwith this prayer from number
six, twenty four.
The Lord make his face shine onyou and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face towardyou and give you peace.
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