The leech has two daughters. “Give! Give!” they cry. There are three things
that are never satisfied, four that never say, “ENOUGH!” The grave, the barren
womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says,
“enough!” ~Proverbs 30:15-16
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 Him? ~Psalm
42:1-2
O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You. My body
longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” ~Psalm 63:1-2
In the Proverb above, we see six negative examples of never being satisfied. You
might not see that right away. The writer said, three and four, so where did I
come up with 6? He started with the leech, but it has 2 daughters! We know the
things he names really are never satisfied. Our daily news is full of stories
of out of control fires and drought. All of us will die one day. Probably all
of us know someone who has suffered through the frustration of remaining
childless. These are all negative circumstances to bear up under.
However, the one to truly be pitied is the one who isn’t suffering anything and
thinks that he or she has enough of God. Even worse is the one who has no
interest in knowing Him at all. Theologians talk about the “God shaped hole,”
in all of us. God has created us to crave Him. Those who go astray, or believe
they are satisfied, fill that hole with things that are not God, packing it in,
trying to fill it up so that they can be rid of the void in their lives.
However, as with the ladder on the wrong wall, or the foundation on shifting
sand, the manmade packing materials will eventually fail, because they were
never meant to be there in the first place. We’ve all experienced being a bit
dehydrated. We just can’t wait to get that needed drink of water to meet that
need. Right now, with our coming together being restricted, I’m sure that most
of us are longing for fellowship with other believers. Perhaps, if you were
able to attend yesterday, you can honestly say that it felt good to be
together. It met a real need.
Even more important is the never-ending craving that we should have for God. The
Psalmist goes beyond describing it as a thirst, to saying even his body longs
for a sense of God’s presence. This makes me think of a healthy craving. It’s
more than, “I can’t wait to eat my next meal.” I’m talking about an actual
craving for more of God. Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever
experienced the sense that you just can’t get enough time with Him?
In contrast to the negative examples in the proverbs, hungering and thirsting for
more of God is the healthiest and holiest craving you can have. It is your soul
longing to be fed and cared for. In the medical field, when a person isn’t
hungry, medical personnel become concerned. They know something is wrong and
they begin exploring what is causing the loss of appetite so that they can
correct the problem.
Too many, even among Christians, have souls that have lost the appetite for
more God. It could be a hurt. It could be lifestyle choices such as busyness. If
you are not craving a deeper closeness with your Creator, Father and Savior,
perhaps it is time to step aside and examine the cause. Begin with honest
prayer to Him. Then, perhaps He will lead you to someone to talk to, Pastor,
counselor, friend, who can help you discern what the problem is and help you
correct it.
Then, if willing, just like a patient needs to be willing to follow the advice
of the medical community, if you will seek God, He will come to you and begin a
craving in you for Him that, fortunately can never be satisfied except by more of
God. “This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it
and established it—the Lord is His name: call to Me and I will answer you and
tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:2-3) You
can never fathom the depths of knowing God, which is a good thing since He is
also a craving within us that can never really be satisfied in this life.
Prayer: Father, You have said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness.” I want to be blessed like that. I’m hungry for more of you, God!
Fill me Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: As the Deer
Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...
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