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The other night I was reading in the Psalms before I went to sleep, and something caught my eye. Within the space of a few verses in two chapters, the psalmist wrote that his soul did some things. So I began to wonder, what did this mean and does my soul truly do these things? 

Psalm 62:1 says, “My soul rests in God alone.” In the NIV it states, “My soul finds rest in God alone.” What does it mean for our soul to find rest? I wanted to learn what rest really meant because it seems in our fast-paced lives we certainly don’t get enough of it. Yet the psalmist expresses to us that his soul rested. 

Rest means being still, a calmness, cessation or motionlessness. Are you ever motionless? Obviously, the little ones around us are always on the go, but do our mind or our hearts ever slow down and truly get quiet before God? The psalmist obviously knew that this was essential in his life, and so it is in ours. When we take the time to stay quietly in His Presence, He delights in our focus on Him and welcomes and refreshes us. It is only in that place where we cease all activity, whether physical or mental, that we can rest in Him. 

In “God alone” denotes exclusively, only, and undividedly. It declares that my soul rests in no one and nothing else. I do not rely on my job, my paycheck, my mate, my children, my church, my mother, my best friend, my own intelligence, my own wisdom, my feelings or anything else. But it tells me that my soul must be resting—without exception and without reservation—only on my God. 

Psalm 62:5 says, “My soul waits in silence for God alone.” Are any of us familiar with waiting? Do we continue at that juncture where God has placed us, not hurrying past it? Do we stop and be silent? Some of us are so harried and impatient that we miss not only the smallest things, but the larger ones too. When I wait for my children or a friend to say something, do I stop, look at them and truly hear what they say? Or am I moving so fast that I am busy with another activity outwardly and inwardly so that I don’t pay attention to them at all? Do I hear their words, their intent, their hearts? Most important, do I wait quietly to hear God, His words, His intent, His heart? 

Waits in silence doesn’t mean I tell my mother, my best friend, my coworkers or strangers on the street about the struggles in my life. It doesn’t mean I look for creative formulas for prayer to “make” God move. It doesn’t mean I bombard my Heavenly Father with relentless requests for the same thing. I gently and humbly lay my heart before Him in prayer, then I wait in silence. So much less stressful, the silence… 

Next, Psalm 63:1 says, “My soul thirsts for You.” Have you ever been incredibly thirsty? Have you ever been so dry that you couldn’t even brew up some spit? Have you ever had your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so tight that you almost couldn’t unglue it? That is how thirsty our soul is to be for our God.  

We are to have such a craving, an appetite and a desire that nothing can satisfy us but God Himself. Are we eager for Him? Is there a hunger, a longing, a passion for His Presence in our lives? Sometimes when worshipping God corporately or alone, I find myself stretching out my arms to Him, wanting Him with such a yearning, I feel insatiable. Only in that place of worship and time with Him do I receive the long, satisfying gulps, and cool refreshment of Him. 

Then, Psalm 63:5 says, “My soul shall be satisfied” as with the richest food. Is your soul satisfied? Are you appeased, contented, delighted in Him? Or are we seeking that satiation in other ways? People? Things? Money? Achievement?  

The psalmist tells us that his soul is quenched with God. He’s stuffed! Think Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners rolled into one. Ouch! It hurts to think of being that full! But when you think of the delicious special foods that are prepared for those meals (my family fights over my homemade cheesecake!) and remember their richness and flavor, then you can know that that fullness and satisfaction is what our souls are to experience in Him.  

Psalm 63:8 says, “My soul stays close to You.” In the Hebrew, “stays close” or “followeth hard” means “to cling, stick, stay close, pursue closely, or overtake.” Think of that. Do we pursue Him closely? Do we cling to Him? Do we “stick” to Him?  

One of my favorite activities on earth is rocking my granddaughters. Now, my six-year-old granddaughter, Audrie, climbs up on my lap for a hug and kiss, and snuggles for a while before she runs off to play. The 2-1/2-year old, Haylee, runs across the room with arms wide open yelling, “Mamaw!” and leaps on my lap nearly strangling me with her hug. She stays longer as we chatter in our own language, read a book, and cuddle until off she goes. Finally, my 2-month old granddaughter, Rialey, nestles in my arms. I swaddle her tightly and hold her close to my heart. She is sleeping peacefully while I breathe her sweet scent and joy in the perfection of her tiny features. 

This is how I love to approach and stay close to God. Sometimes I climb up on His Lap for a hug, a kiss, and a snuggle. Then I run off to go on with my life, reassured by His love and care. Sometimes I run flying to His Arms, calling out His Name at the top of my lungs, leaping into His Lap, and hugging Him in a strangle hold. And finally, there are the times when He wraps me so tightly in His Arms that I cannot wiggle, and He holds me, rocking me gently as He marvels at His creation, me. 

The psalmist clearly tells us what his soul does: Rests, waits in silence, thirsts, stays close, and is satisfied only in Him. We have to personally experience what these actions mean for our own souls. As with all skills, it takes practice to learn to rest, to wait in silence and to stay close to Him. We can choose to thirst always for Him and to find our only satisfaction in Him. What does your soul do? 

Copyright 2004 by Desiree Marrion