Psalm 63 | Gods Faithfulness Through Trials

When Everything Else Falls Away

What do you do when life's stripped everything away from you? Like you're standing in a wilderness with nothing left?

This week at Crowd Church, Dan Orange explored Psalm 63, written by King David when he was literally hiding in the desert. His son had turned the people against him. He was being hunted. He was sleeping rough in a dry and weary land, keeping watch through the night for enemies. Yet somehow, in the middle of all that, David wrote one of the most joyful songs in the entire Bible.

Dan challenges us to see beyond our circumstances. Because what David discovered in that wilderness, what transforms our own hard places, isn't about changing our situation. It's about finding out that God's presence satisfies us more than anything else ever could.

The Wilderness We're Actually In

Before we talk about solutions, let's be honest about the struggle. Wilderness times are tough. These are the moments when it's hardest to open God's word, to pray, to worship. When our feelings are all over the place, and circumstances seem to shout louder than the truth.

Dan puts it plainly: "If I live by my feelings, I'll be all over the place. Feelings change, but God remains the same."

Culture tells us satisfaction comes from getting what we want. Better circumstances. More comfort. Fixed problems. However, Psalm 63:3 completely flips that: "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."

David's not hiding from his situation. He admits he's thirsty. He's not pretending everything's fine. But he's realised something profound: the circumstances can't satisfy him. Only God can. As The Message paraphrases it: "I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy. I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises."

This man knew what fantastic food was. He was a king. But God satisfied him more than anything a king could have. And he wrote this whilst hiding in a desert.

Earnestly Seeking What Actually Satisfies

Psalm 63 starts with these words: "You, God, are my God. Earnestly I seek you, I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, and in a dry and parched land, where there's no water."

Dan highlights the honesty here. David's admitting his need. His whole being longs for God. Not just his mind agreeing that God exists. Not just going through religious motions. His entire being thirsts for God's presence.

This matters because the world offers plenty of water alternatives. Distractions. Comforts. Solutions that promise to quench our thirst. But they don't. They can't. Only God fully satisfies.

David had known God before this wilderness. He'd recovered the Ark of the Covenant. He'd sat before the Lord and prayed. He'd faced Goliath as a shepherd boy, declaring: "You come to me with a sword and a spear and with a javelin. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of armies of Israel whom you have defied."

God had delivered Goliath into David's hands through David's skill with a sling - a skill picked up during long, hard days and nights guarding sheep. Those wilderness training days prepared him for that one crucial moment.

Dan reflects, "It's just great to remember what God has done for us, to write it down, to tell others."

When we're in the wilderness, remembering God's faithfulness becomes vital. Not to pretend everything's fine, but to anchor ourselves to what doesn't change when everything else does.

Finding Joy in the Concentration Camp

Dan introduces us to Corrie Ten Boom, whose story challenges everything we think about suffering and satisfaction in God.

Corrie was a Dutch woman who lived through relatively peaceful times during World War I. Then World War II hit Holland. Within five days, they went from peace to turmoil under German rule. Corrie and her family, known for their peaceful and helpful nature, started hiding Jews in their home. They built a false wall and a secret room. As a result, many were saved.

Eventually, they were caught. Her father died soon after capture. Her sister died 12 days before Corrie was released due to a clerical error. All the women who'd been held with her were sent to the gas chamber a week after her release.

But here's what challenges us: Corrie experienced her greatest joy and peace in that horrific place. She learned to thank God for everything. Even for lice. Dan says, "You need to read this story, how in the camp, she and her sister worshipped God and prayed for those around her, even the guards."

Many became Christians because of Corrie and her sister, and many more have followed since her release, thanks to her books and public speaking.

Corrie said this: "You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have."

Those wilderness places—whether physical or spiritual, hard places —are often exactly where we need to be. Because that's when we discover who God really is. That's when we learn His love is truly better than life itself.

Dan poses a challenging question from one of Matt's recent talks: "Are we prepared to ask for trials, knowing that trials inspire us and bring us closer to God?"

That's uncomfortable. We don't naturally want hardship. However, the truth is that we can learn from difficult situations. We can honour God in them. And when we're in them, we need to fall into His arms because He's all we have.

What Clinging Actually Looks Like

Psalm 63:7-8 says: "Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you. Your right hand upholds me."

Dan explores this image of us as small chicks under the shadow of God's wings. Protected by the one who loves us. Covered and kept safe in the storm.

This isn't passive. David's actively clinging. In the middle of the wilderness. With enemies around. Having to get up in the watches of the night to keep watch. This is real danger. Real struggle.

But he's holding onto something stronger than his circumstances. God's right hand - the place of strength, honour, and protection - upholds him.

Dan reflects: "I'm amazed at times that God stays with us. Perhaps there should be more clinging to Him, more closeness."

The Tree 63 song Dan mentions finishes with this line: "My soul clings to you." That's the prayer that our souls would cling to God. Not just acknowledge Him. Not just believe in Him. But actively hold onto Him when everything else is falling away.

Practical Steps for Your Wilderness

Dan shares what helps him when times are tough:

Read God's Word When It's Hardest
Focus on the one who can't move, who's a rock, rather than feelings and situations which change. Dan often reads a passage in a standard version, then in The Message translation, to gain a clearer understanding of God's heart.

Write Down What God Has Done
Keep a record of God's provision, healing, and faithfulness. Dan lists his own: "He's provided jobs for me, he's healed my neck after I slipped a disc, I've seen people run down the road after they went into a meeting with crutches and they came out just not needing them. He's changed my heart to love others."

These aren't small things. They serve as evidence of God's faithfulness, reminding us to return to when current circumstances feel overwhelming.

Learn From Others' Stories
Read about people who've been in trouble and how God helped them. Dan found The Hiding Place both wonderful and challenging. These stories show us we're not alone, and that God remains faithful even in the darkest places.

Be Honest With God
He can take it. He knows what's going on already. David's psalms are full of honest cries, complaints, praises, and questions. Don't hide anything from God. Let your prayers be real journals of what you're experiencing.

Remember God's Nature
When danger threatens and you can no longer trust your own stories or memories, you can still trust God's nature. His word doesn't change. His character remains constant. His love is steadfast.

The Lion's Roar

Dan finishes with a beautiful quote from Martin Luther, the church reformer. When walking in the woods, Luther used to raise his hat to the birds and say: "Good morning, theologians. You wake and sing, but I, old fool, know less than you and worry over everything instead of simply trusting in the heavenly Father's care."

The birds don't worry. They sing. They trust. They rest under the shadow of their Creator's wings.

Psalm 63 concludes with a focus on judgment and justice. Those who sought David's life would be destroyed. But those who turn to God rejoice. Those who come to know God's forgiveness live with Him. We get to sit at God's right hand. We get to know God the Father.

There is a wilderness. There are enemies. There is hardship. But there's also a God whose love is better than life itself. A God who satisfies more than the richest foods. A God whose right hand upholds us when we cling to Him.

What Will You Cling To?

We're back to Corrie Ten Boom's words: "You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have."

Perhaps you're in a wilderness right now. Circumstances have stripped away everything you thought would bring security and satisfaction. You may be keeping watch through difficult nights, wondering when things will change.

What if the question isn't how to get out of the wilderness, but how to discover what David and Corrie discovered in theirs? That God's presence satisfies. That His love is better than life. That clinging to Him, being held by His right hand, is enough.

Not because the circumstances don't matter. Not because the pain isn't real. But because underneath it all, through it all, the one who never changes is holding us.

The same God who was with David in the desert. The same God who was with Corrie in the concentration camp. The same God who provides, protects, and ultimately judges justly. He's with you in your wilderness.

It may be time to seek Him earnestly. To let your whole being long for Him. To discover that when Christ is all you have, you'll find He's all you need.