Following Hard

“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” (Ps 63:8 AV)

The first part of this verse speaks loudly to me!  For the first time in a long time, this writer is of few words.  David was overwhelmed.  At what point in his life he wrote this is unclear.  We do know, because of the mention of enemies, that David was at his wit’s end with those who would do him harm.  Who they were and when this was in not stated.  The title of the psalm places David in the wilderness of Judah.  Although he may have spent more time there than was recorded in the scriptures, this may correlate to his flight into Judah, their initial rejection of him, and his consequent trip to Moab to secure his parent’s safety.  If this is the time of which David speaks, it was a particularly lonely time.  His tribe refused to protect him from Saul.  Saul had killed everyone associated with David.  Therefore, David was forced to flee to Moab and leave his immediate family there.  For the first time, David was all alone with His God.

David is not ashamed to say that his soul followed hard after God.  The picture I have in my head is our wedding reception.  Several weeks after our wedding, my wife’s boss gave us a compliment.  She said she noticed that I followed my wife around like a forlorn puppy.  Where she went, I went.  I followed hard after her.  I know what you are thinking.  Just stop it.  I did this because we were now one flesh.  We were no longer two people.  We were one family.  This was before our wedding night.  This was before our consummation.  We were one.  No longer two.  The thought of being far from her was not a thought I cared to entertain.  It has been that way ever since.  Time has allowed us to be apart.  But not for very long.  It is extremely rare for us to be away from one another for more than a few hours.  Those times when we are apart for days are rare.  It is usually a woman’s retreat, a hunting trip, or an overnight hospital stay that demands our severance.  But these times are extremely rare.  We could say that we follow hard after one another.  There isn’t much space or time that separates us.  And I like it!

When David says that he follows hard after the LORD, I understand this.  It breaks the heart of the saint who truly loves his God that heaven is so far away.  We must accept our relationship as it is.  One of these days, we will see our Savior face-to-face!  Following hard after the LORD will take on a whole new meaning.  Jesus saved my soul over forty years ago.  My biggest regret is that I am not as close to Him as I possibly could be.  Like all of us, sin and life happened.  One of these days, following hard after the LORD will have no competing interests.  One has to wonder who we love the most.  One has to wonder who it is we could not live without.  It should be the LORD.  As a newlywed who follows hard after his new spouse, our souls should follow hard even more so after our God.  He will never leave nor forsake.  He is always there.  Closer than we realize.  So, the question still remains.  Do we follow hard after the God of our existence?