Thirsting for God

Chuckle: "When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra." --Will Rogers"

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled" --Matthew 5:6 NIV

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:1-2 NIV).

Dotse and I enjoy sitting on our back porch and watching deer that graze and bed down on our lawn. They are fun to watch but they certainly are destructive to plants and shrubs. Here in Central Texas, we normally have several months of hot dry weather each summer. The deer sometimes become desperate for water and we see them drinking from fish ponds, bird baths, etc. You can actually see them panting from the heat and the need for water. Their severe need causes them to take extreme measures to quench their thirsts.

In our passage, the psalmist so yearned for God's intimate presence in his life that he compared his longing for God to that of a panting deer's thirst for water. What an amazing testimony by the writer of this Psalm who was likely in exile somewhere to the north of Mount Hermon. He was longing to be on the mountain with God himself. Evidently, he felt that God was far away and not available to him. He was in a desert with no way to quench his thirst.

Have there been times when you have felt that God was far away? I think every Christian has, or will, have such an experience. When we feel this way, we need to remember that God does not move away from us -- we move away from him. It may be that some sin has gained a foothold in your live which creates a breach in fellowship between you and God. You may have allowed something to become a higher priority than your relationship with the living Lord. A warning signal is the absence of a thirst and yearning for God. But the important thing is to recognize your condition and draw near to God out of a deep personal need for his forgiving, healing, and comforting presence in your life. As you draw near to God, he will draw near to you.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10 NIV). Jesus continued, "but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14 NIV).

Love, Jerry & Dotse