June 1 “So Thirsty!”

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