Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Spiritual Thirst

Ps. 63:1You, 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.

Can you hear the sound of desperation in the words of the Psalmist who wrote these words? Do you sense the immediacy of his need for God? Does he call out for comfort, peace, safety, provision?

I read these lines of Psalm 63, and I have to pause and think of the condition of the psalmist's heart. What a cry for connection to almighty God! What an outpouring of the soul that he should declare, “I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you in a dry and parched land where there is no water”. He says not only do I thirst, but there is not even the hope of water to quench my thirst. I hear echoes of this same cry today as I look at our world, our region and our town.

So many people are spiritually dry, and they thirst. Many are spiritually lost, and they long for home. Some long to know God, yet fill that void with pursuits that will ultimately not satisfy, and may eventually bring about their destruction. If you listen closely, you can hear the ache of unanswered questions- Why does God allow this... what am I supposed to do now...I need to know the answer!

Listen now to how the Psalmist finds the answer to his heart's cry.

Ps. 63:2-5I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory.Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands.I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

The very sight of God Himself, enthroned in glory, and reigning in power, provide satisfaction for his desperate cry. Almighty God is enough to fill the longing soul. The Psalmist considers the love of God of more intrinsic value than his own life, as precious of a gift as that might be, and in response he gives God praise. His eyes are no longer on the thirst, but on the fountain of life.

His heart no longer wanders in a desert place, but finds its rest at home with the Lord. The hungers of his flesh are entirely satisfied in the feast of God's presence. Noted Christian author and pastor, Dr. John Piper, is famously quoted as saying, “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him”. God is both the thirst, and the quenching of that thirst. In Him we live, move and have our being.


Are you spiritually thirsty? Come to the Fountain of God's presence, and delight in His glory.