Psalm 63:3-4 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Listen, when David wrote this Psalm, he faced problem upon problem, attack upon attack, so much so that he hid himself in the wilderness of Judah, oh, and may we dare say, not just geographically in a wilderness, but he also experienced a wilderness inside of him.
But then David wrote: O God, You are my God; early will I seek You.; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory (Psalms 63:1-2).
Don't we all sometimes find ourselves in trouble, in situations where it seems as if we are stuck without any supply, moments where it seems as if we are in a wilderness and simply trying to hide from all the bad things in life that tend to find us?
Well, that's what David experienced, yet David longed for the Lord, and specifically the sanctuary, that place inside the Tabernacle where David simply knew he was in the presence of the Lord!
Therefore, in the midst of David's terrible lonely situation, surrounded by adversaries, he did what he knew he would've done if he were in the sanctuary: praise, lifting up his arms in thanksgiving, worshipping the Lord and focusing on who He is!
All of a sudden, David pondered about the lovingkindness of the Lord, and that what He felt unto us is better than life! David chose to change his lips from complaining to praising and from being surrounded by the enemy to being surrounded by the Lord's lovingkindness.
What will happen today if we behold the privilege of being in Christ's presence and surrounded by His lovingkindness instead of being surrounded by our enemies, our sickness, and our situations of turmoil?
What if we chose, like David, to lift our hands in praise unto Jesus, who is above our trouble, and let our lips rather praise Him than complain?
David showed us what will happen, as Psalm 63:4-5 further says, "Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name." My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
In Christ, we have every reason to lift our hands, no matter where we are or what may surround us, for He is worthy of our praise; our lips may call upon His Name, praise His Name, and declare how His lovingkindness is better than life!
Amen