October 31, 2026 -- Day Thirty-one of Joy: Psalm 63:5-8

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5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:5-8 ESV
 
Joy is a particularly poignant and necessary gift when one feels spiritually alone. That is how David, the author of this psalm, begins it. Many of us can relate. When we feel as if we are in a wilderness with no safe refuge, there is a desperate urgency, a thirstiness for God which, if it is not appropriately satisfied, will lead a man to indulge in all kinds of sin.
 
Once David had expressed his soul’s thirstiness for God, instead of looking around him for something to pleasure him, he looked to the sanctuary, he considered the glory and power of God. That is what led him to joy. His circumstances hadn’t changed, but his heart’s posture had. He placed himself wholly into the care of the God Whose steadfast love never leaves him.
 
When you feel exposed and helpless, look Who God is, His wings overshadow the praying man. The right hand of God, the hand of His power, upholds a man. To be upheld by God means that God defends you from your enemies. To be upheld by God means you are lifted from your circumstances and led in His way everlasting. No wonder David, despite his circumstances, sings for joy! God’s got him.
 
O LORD my God, You are the source of joy.
Savior of the world, You are the foundation of joy.
Holy Spirit by Your powerful presence in my life, You grant me the spiritual gift of joy and create in me a holy expectation of eternal joy in the presence of God.
Teach me to cling to You, Triune God, in hard times and in good, in riches and in poverty, in loneliness and community, so that my highest pleasure will always, ever, be in You. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/4SvctBsjC08?si=iN8fOIfms4FjDHSW
 

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