Psalm 63:3-4 CEB My lips praise you because your faithful love is better than life itself. So I willbless you as long as I'm alive; I will lift up my hands in your name.
It’s been about 6-8 weeks that we have practiced social distancing and the quarantine thing. I miss people. I don’t sit still well. I like routine. I like being “on the go.” Before Covid 19, I enjoyed my daily routine. I liked waking up early, having my early morning quiet time and going to the gym. [I miss you Iron Tribe Fitness.] I enjoyed my daily Panera coffee (sometimes with friends) and taking Max to school. My days at work always had an element of surprise or challenge and I enjoyed it. Afternoons sometimes involved picking Max up from school, having the soccer car pool, taking a walk or preparing dinner. Now, it feels more of the same and only by God’s grace have I once again learned the importance of contentment.
When all of this social distancing started, we had one big change in our house. Elliott came home from college to study remotely. It seemed things changed so quickly. I heard my boys say to me early on, “Mom, stop freaking out.” And I would say, “Me, freaking out. Why are there shoes all over the floor? Why are there dirty dishes always in the sink? Why does the dog’s food bowl always seem to be empty? And, why are there candy wrappers laying all around the house?” Then I would have to stop and take a deep breath and press the reset button. I would have to say a prayer of confession. “Lord, I am so sorry. These things are so trivial right now compared to the suffering, grief and hardship that our community and world are facing right now.” A quote that has given me a lot of encouragement recently is one by Lysa Terkheurst:
"Trusting in God’s plan is the only secret I know to the gentle art of not freaking out."
Yes. Trust. It’s always easier in theory. Here in Psalm 63 we see that David wanted God more than he wanted life. He was in the wilderness in Judah fleeing for his life. He was social distancing and for good reason. It’s interesting how social distancing is starting to feel a little like I anticipate the wilderness feeling – lonely and uncertain. However, in his wilderness David didn’t spiral down into self-pity but instead chose to praise and trust God. He knew that the never-failing loving kindness of God was more to be desired than life itself.
This scripture “because your faithful love is better than life itself” has been so convicting to me this past week. If I want God more than I want life, then I want God more than I want all the joys of this life—watching my son play soccer, visiting Elliott at the University of Cincinnati, celebrating milestones, traveling with my family, visiting state parks, watching University of Kentucky Basketball, waving my scarf at the Louisville City soccer games, enjoying dinner with friends and the list could go on. When David says that the love of God is better than life, he is not denying that all these good things come from the love of God. He is warning us, rather, that if our hearts settle (even gratefully) on the beauty of the gift and do not yearn for the infinitely greater beauty of the Giver, then we are idolaters and not worshipers of God.
This is why we cannot do without the wilderness experiences of life. If all of life were complete bliss, as so many people think it should be and as so many try to make it, then would we not much more often become addicted to enjoying the gifts of God rather than God? For me, God has used this social distancing [the wilderness] to remind me that the faithful, steadfast love of God is truly better than life itself.
