King David certainly did. And his words, captured in Psalm 63, resonate across the ages, a testament to a soul seeking connection with the Divine.

“My God, I seek You early,” David proclaims. It's a sentiment echoed in Proverbs 8:17: "I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me." The Midrash Tehillim, a collection of homiletic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, uses this verse to unpack the very nature of Divine love and connection. It's a two-way street, isn't it? "Whoever loves God," the Torah tells us, "God loves him back." David loved God, and so, God loved him in return. He sought God early, and so, God found him. A beautiful exchange.

But what does it mean to truly seek God, especially in times of hardship? David continues in Psalm 63, "My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” The Midrash interprets this "dry and weary land" as Edom, often seen as a symbol of wickedness and spiritual barrenness.

Think about that image for a moment: a parched land, devoid of life-giving water. The Midrash then makes a striking comparison. "A serpent has a friend, and a fiery serpent has a companion, but a thirsty person has no friend." Ouch. The idea being that even the most venomous creatures find companionship, but someone consumed by spiritual thirst, someone in that desolate state, is utterly alone.

Why? Because, the Midrash suggests, wickedness, like that barren land, offers no true sustenance. "This wicked one has no friend. Therefore, she is in a dry and desolate land."

And what about us? Where does that leave us, yearning for connection and meaning in a world that often feels… well, pretty dry? The Midrash suggests that our souls, too, can become weary, longing for the life-giving waters of the Torah. We thirst for those words, that guidance, that connection. And the Midrash warns us, "we cannot be left alone." We need that connection. We crave it.

But here’s the glimmer of hope, the promise that echoes through the ages. Even in the depths of thirst, even in the most desolate landscape, there is a source of water available. As Isaiah 41:17 reminds us: "The poor and needy seek water, and there is none; their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them."

That promise – God will not forsake them – it’s a lifeline. It suggests that even when we feel utterly alone, parched and lost in a spiritual desert, the Divine is there, listening, ready to quench our deepest thirst. It’s an invitation to seek Him early, to cultivate that connection, and to trust that even in the driest of times, we will be found. What does seeking God early mean to you?