As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
Psalm 42:1 NIV
For some reason I have always been drawn to this Psalm. I think the image of thirsting for something resonates with me. Especially when contrasted with the image in Psalm 1 of a tree growing because it has a source of water.
I think though that we (me and maybe you) as a culture don't have a real understanding of thirst of hunger. When we are thirsty we decide what we will drink. When we are hungry we choose where and what we will eat. I am not sure that we really understand what it means to hunger or thirst for God.
When we are thirsty, we drink and we are no longer thirsty . . . or at least for a time . . . then we thirst again. Physically this thirst will never go away.
BUT, when we are thirsty for spiritual things, we have a choice. If we seek to quench this thirst, we can find relief. And the thirst will go away.
But here is the problem with thirst as it relates to God, I have found that the longer you wait to fuel this thirst the less pronounced the thirst is. Maybe that is why so many people come to church every once in a great while . . . they find themselves thirsty and need a drink.
Here's the rub. In order to quench this thirst you need a constant source. Jesus said, "Drink from me and you will never thirst again."
We are thirsty, but the thirst for things of God will not be quenched by a drink every now and then . . . or for that matter once every week on a Sunday.
This thirst will be quenched when you have a relationship with Christ. When "the living water" resides in you, then you will be quenched. And when you are in relationship with Him, you can help but continue to seek more and more.
Thirsty yet?
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