A DRY AND WEARY LAND
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1 (ESV)
David wrote this psalm while he was in the desert wilderness of Judah. He was thirsty. His surroundings offered no relief, a dry and weary land without water. Yet in the midst of his physical thirst, he acknowledged the greater thirst of his soul. Elsewhere, he would write, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God (Psalm 42:1-2 ESV).
This imagery of thirsting for God is echoed by Jesus, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life (John 4:13-14 CSB).”
Intellectually, I know nothing in this world can satisfy my soul’s thirst. However, too often I forget this and find myself pursuing the things of this world. In his sermon, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis put it this way, We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. God promises us fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in His presence (Psalm 16:11). Why would we trade that for anything else? We must retrain our spiritual palate.
As a child, I didn’t like black coffee. It’s bitter. Only as an adult have I learned to appreciate it (and maybe depend on it a little too much!). The point is, it’s a taste I acquired, not one I naturally had. I’ve found our spiritual lives are similar. We don’t naturally desire the things of God. We must redirect our thirst toward God, as David did, and refuse to be satisfied with anything else. Only God can truly satisfy our thirst.
APPLICATION: Change doesn’t happen overnight. Start with small steps, such as reducing your screen time by 10 minutes today. Fill that time with God’s Word.
PRAYER: God, help me to thirst for You, the Living Water, more than anything else this world could offer me. May I find my satisfaction and delight in You alone. Amen
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?