“As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God—for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?”
Psalm 42:1-2
He places it there when He creates us; it’s up to us to pursue/stir it once the Holy Spirit has quickened it.
“Soul-thirsting.”
That’s what the psalmist was feeling when he penned these poignant words in today’s Manna. Like a heavily perspiring, thirst-slaked, running-for-his-life deer, longing for his cool, familiar places and quiet, cool streams, so does the thirsty soul long for “God, the living God.”
He’s the One Who created us “in His image” (Gen. 1:26) as the crowning act of creation. This doesn’t mean we look like Him; it simply means He instills within each of us the capacity—yea, the innate, inward desire—to “know Him” and fellowship with Him.
Despite our bent toward sinning and a mind that’s “hostile toward Him” from birth (Rom. 8:7), deep down within us is still that yearning to hear His Voice “walking on the wind in the cool of the day” even as our first parents, Adam and Eve did (Gen. 3:8). That’s why Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee, O God.”
Could it be in our thirst for the wrong things—fame and fortune. . .power, prestige, popularity and possessions. . .increased knowledge of facts instead of a deepening knowledge of Him, etc.—that we, like Adam and Eve, have chosen the “forbidden fruit” over the “forever fruit”? Could it be that our pride of complexity has robbed us of the pleasure of simplicity that’s found at Jesus’ feet?
Assuredly, our thirsting after God arises because He first instilled within us that desire. As Jesus said, “No man can come to Me except the Father which has sent Me draw Him” (Jn. 6:44). Yet, it is this “drawing” that should whet within us the longing for “pursuing Him” (Ps. 63:8) even as a thirsty man longs for a drink of cool water and a hungry man craves even a small morsel of bread.
Thus, the question each one of us should ask ourselves is “Do I thirst after God like a desperate deer thirsts for the water brooks? Does my soul ache for His Presence and long for His Love? Am I weary of pursuing the wrong ‘gods’ and am now obsessed with knowing Him Who is the true and living God?”
Our answer will reveal where our passion and priorities lie.
If we cannot answer “Yes” without hesitation or reservation, then it follows we’re grieving His Spirit and hardening our heart to His still, small Voice. Only in “seeking Him first” in all areas of our lives will we “know Him and the power of His Resurrection” (Mt. 6:33; Phil. 3:10). May today be the day that you say once again, “O Lord, You know everything about me; You know I love You. Help me today to hunger and thirst more for You than I ever have.”
