Who Is the Man Who Desires Life?

“Who is the man who desires life, [who] loves days to see good?”— Psalm 34:12

This verse opens with a question—but not one that demands information. It’s a rhetorical question, aimed straight at the heart. It’s meant to awaken desire, to stir the soul. Who wouldn’t want life? Who wouldn’t want to love many days and see good? And yet, tucked beneath the surface of these words is something deeper: a call to desire God Himself.

The Hebrew phrasing is revealing. Literally: “Who is the man, the one who delights in life, who loves days to see good?” This isn’t simply about surviving or having a long life. It’s about delighting in life and loving the days we’re given. And that kind of desire has a source—it doesn’t come from nowhere.

Scripture tells us that:

• God is life (John 14:6)

• God is love (1 John 4:8)

• God is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9)

• God is the light by which we see (1 John 1:5)

• God is good (Psalm 100:5)

So what kind of man delights in life and loves days to see good? The one who delights in God. To long for true life is to long for the Giver of life. To love days filled with goodness is to love the One from whom all goodness flows. The question, then, is not just about our desires—it’s about the orientation of our hearts.

David doesn’t stop at the question. He gives us the answer in the verses that follow:

“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”— Psalm 34:13–14

This is how we please God. And when we walk this way—imperfectly, but sincerely—something remarkable happens:

“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.”— Psalm 34:15 (ESV)

What begins with desire ends in relationship. God sees. God hears. And we learn that the pathway to life, to goodness, and to joy is not merely about moral discipline—but about being in communion with the living God.

So let the question search your soul: Do you desire life? Do you love your days and want to see good?

Then desire God. Delight in Him. Pursue His ways. And you’ll find what your heart was made for.