Listen to these words from Psalm 42:
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
Or Psalm 63:
1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
Saint Augustine said this, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”
These words shine a spotlight directly on the need we all have to have our thirst quenched by God. The general activities of our life can make us dry. The stress and anxiety we face can make us dry. Adding “everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1) to the mix and our soul can seem pretty parched.
There is no one who has not faced these realities and no one who will ever be immune to them. That is why we need God so much. That is why we need to be thirsty for Him. We need Him to quench our thirst and renew our souls.
Apart from this, we are doomed to life in that “dry and parched land.” And it doesn’t need to be that way. Even in the midst of running from God and worshipping other gods, the Israelites were told, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).
Our pursuit of God begins with our thirst for Him. The question isn’t primarily one of mechanics but one of deep soul thirst. Are we thirsty for God?
A.W. Tozer offers this wonderful prayer that illustrates this desire:
O God, I have tasted thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. Oh God, the Truine God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made thirsty still (Whitney, pg. 23).
Are you dry? If so, can you identify what has made you dry? Are you thirsty? What are you doing to have your thirst quenched?
I have found only 3 things that quench this thirst for God:
ReplyDeletereading God's Word, being in a prayerful state during every moment of each day, and seeing God's love in everyone you come in contact with throughout each day.