在經歷了一次未預料到的舊疾復發後，我跟著丈夫及其他人參加一個在山區舉辦的退修會。我費力地走上通往山頂小教堂的木板階梯，獨自在黑暗中停下腳步，坐在一個碎裂的台階上休息。當小教堂的音樂響起時，我低聲呼求：「主啊，幫助我。」我繼續緩步向前，直到踏進那間小教堂。我喘著氣，忍受著疼痛，感謝上帝聽見我們在曠野的求助聲！

聖經中記載的一些敬拜上帝的親密時刻，就是發生在曠野。大衛王曾經藏匿在猶大的曠野，可能是為了逃避他兒子押沙龍的追殺。那時，他向上帝吟唱道：「上帝啊，祢是我的上帝！我要切切地尋求祢；……我渴想祢，我的心切慕祢」（詩篇63篇1節）。大衛經歷過上帝的大能與榮美，將上帝的愛視為「比生命更好」（3節），這也正是他定意要一生敬拜上帝的原因，甚至置身曠野仍是如此（2-6節）。他說：「因為祢曾幫助我，我就在祢翅膀的蔭下歡呼。我心緊緊地跟隨祢；祢的右手扶持我。」（7-8節）

如同大衛一樣，不管我們的景況如何，或我們的仇敵何等凶狠，我們都可以藉由稱頌上帝，來展現對祂的信心（11節）。縱然我們會受苦遭難，甚至有時是無辜受害，但我們還是可以相信上帝的慈愛總是比生命更好。

After another unexpected health setback, I joined my husband and others during a retreat in the mountains. I trudged up the wooden staircase that led to the tiny church on the top of a hill. Alone in the dark, I stopped to rest on a splintered step. “Help me, Lord,” I whispered as the music began. I walked slowly until I stepped into the small room. I breathed through the lingering pain, grateful that God hears us in the wilderness!

Some of the most intimate moments of worshiping God recorded in Scripture took place in the wilderness. While hiding in the Desert of Judah and most likely on the run from his son Absalom, King David sang: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you” (Psalm 63:1). Having experienced God’s power and glory, David deemed God’s love as “better than life” (v. 3), and it was the reason he committed to a lifetime of worship—even while in the wilderness (vv. 2-6). He said, “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me” (vv. 7-8).

Like David, regardless of our circumstances or the fierceness of those standing against us, we can demonstrate confidence in God by praising Him (v. 11). Though we’ll suffer, sometimes by no fault of our own, we can trust that God’s love is always better than life.