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Jan 24, 2026 06:00am

Confessions of a Thirsty Man

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He was isolated from friends and family. He was betrayed by those closest to him. As he fled through the desert from people who wanted him dead, he felt completely alone. His heart wrestled with anger, bitterness, and deep loneliness.

And he was thirsty.

He was just a young shepherd boy when he came to know God as his Good Shepherd—the One who led him to green pastures and still waters. Trusting his Good Shepherd, he fought off lions and bears that threatened his flock. Years later, that same trust fueled his bravery to face the giant Goliath. And now, as he hid in caves, his soul thirsted deeply for his Good Shepherd’s presence and rescue.

He wrote about this time, confessing his thirst. He had no idea his words would outlive him, giving hope to countless others in their thirsty seasons too. And he had no idea the Good Shepherd was using this thirst to mold and shape his heart.

In his confession, he didn’t dwell on all that he had lost. Instead, he fixed his eyes on God. Even in the desert, far from home, he praised God for His faithful love. He meditated on God and His Word through the night, reminding himself of all the times God had been faithful to him. And he closed his confession with a powerful declaration: he would trust God to deal with those who had hurt him.

It was there, amid the confessions of this thirsty man named David, that he encountered something supernatural: true satisfaction. Though his situation hadn’t changed, his perspective had. He knew he could face whatever the future held because God was with him.

His confession would later become Psalm 63.

Two thousand years later, those same words comforted me in my own thirsty season.

In my early days of being a mama, I entered a season I never saw coming. At the time, my husband and I were getting serious about our faith. Having been out of church for years, we found a church we loved and began going regularly. After soaking up Bible studies and Sunday sermons, I yearned for more. I began reading the Gospels, and a fire lit inside of me. Though I had been a Christian for years, that’s when I fell in love with Jesus on the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

It was then—when my love for the Lord had never been stronger—that He allowed me to face a long-standing fear. It turned out to be one of the hardest seasons I’ve ever walked through, and I wasn’t the only target—my family felt the impact too. We faced spiritual warfare I never knew existed through nighttime disturbances and vivid nightmares. I began to dread bedtime and the dark, fearing what might happen as we tried to sleep.

I thought I was losing my mind.

I questioned God. I cried aloud for help. I lived in fear. I felt desperate like David in Psalm 63 and countless other psalms he penned. I was on my way home one day, begging God for all of this to stop, when I heard that still, soft voice whisper something that changed my whole perspective: “Fight, Amber. You have to fight. Put on your armor and fight.”

Then it clicked: this wouldn’t end until I learned to trust God by facing my fear. The competitor in me kicked in, and suddenly, I didn’t want to be the victim anymore—I wanted to be the victor. It was then I started my journey of fighting back. I did what David did in Psalm 63: I meditated on God’s Word. I memorized Scripture from many of David’s psalms—they became my sword. And I taught my kids a handful of verses to cry out when nightmares or night visions jolted them awake.

I fought—day and night—in prayer with my sword of the Spirit.

I would love to tell you it instantly stopped and never returned, but that would be a lie. The rescue didn’t come all at once—it came slowly, through daily moments of speaking, praying, and clinging to God’s Word. Like David, I had to preach to myself. And when I struggled, God sent people to encourage me and pray for me and over me.

Now, over fifteen years later, I can step back and see His deeper purpose. Heart surgery was being done. He was molding my heart to look like His. Out of His loving-kindness, the Lord showed me what had been holding me back from a deeper relationship with Him. And He allowed my children to be affected because He knew I would fight for them, even when I struggled to fight for myself. The genuineness of my faith had to be tested. Though I faltered many times in that valley, I experienced the faithfulness of God. Sometimes, He led me with His right hand. Sometimes, He pointed and said, “This is the way. Walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). And sometimes, friends, He carried me.

God used the confessions of a thirsty man to show me that true satisfaction isn’t found in the deliverance from hardships, but in the companionship of God through them. Looking back, I now see this thirsty season of life as a gift that allowed me to experience something beautiful: the unfailing love of God.

“Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise You!” (Psalm 63:3)