“Bobbie the Wonder Dog” was a collie mix separated from his family while they were on a summer holiday together many miles from home. The family searched everywhere for their beloved pet but returned heartbroken without him.
Six months later, towards the end of winter, a scraggly but determined Bobbie showed up at their door. Bobbie somehow made the long and dangerous trek, crossing rivers, roads and mountains to find his way home to those he loved.
Bobbie’s quest inspired books, movies and a mural in his hometown. His devotion strikes a chord within, perhaps because God has placed an even deeper longing in our hearts. Ancient theologian Augustine described it this way: “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” This same longing was desperately yet eloquently expressed by David in a prayer as he hid from his pursuers in Judah’s wilderness: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).
David praised God because His “love is better than life” (v. 3). Nothing compares with knowing Him! Through Jesus, God has sought us out and made the way for us to come home to His perfect love—regardless of how distant we once were. As we turn to Him, we find our heart’s true home.
By James Banks
REFLECT & PRAY
What do you look forward to most about one day seeing Jesus? In what ways will you seek Him today?
Jesus, thank You for making the way for me to come to You through Your life, death on the cross, and resurrection.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Though the superscription (information about authorship, occasion, and musical or liturgical instruction) of Psalm 63 includes the name of the songwriter, “David,” and the setting, “the Desert of Judah” (wilderness), we aren’t given the circumstances under which this psalm was written. The most likely situation was when David fled to the wilderness from his rebellious son Absalom (2 Samuel 15–18). “The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness” ( 15:23; see vv. 27–29; 16:2; 17:16, 29). David was on the run from a son he loved dearly (13:37–39) and for whom, upon his death, he would weep bitterly and mourn deeply (18:31–19:4). Whatever the occasion, during a time of deep difficulty, David found strength to call upon and cling to God ( Psalm 63:1, 8).
Arthur Jackson
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