Thirsty for God

" A Psalm of David When He Was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1, NKJV)

 

Concepts such as thirsting for God found in passages like this one make for great devotional references, but if we are honest thirsting for God is not part of our day to day reality. One of the reasons that we are not as thirsty for God as we like is because we live in a culture that has an over abundant supply of seemingly refreshing streams. Granted none of them are as satisfying as God, yet it is hard to be thirsty for God when you are drunk on the culture. On second glance perhaps David’s thirst for God was not a self manufactured virtue but rather a response to the perfecting grace of God.

 

Notice the setting for this Psalm is in the wilderness of Judah. Most likely this was when David was fleeing for his life from his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15). Can you imagine David’s circumstances? He was the King of Israel and yet his own son was trying to overthrow his monarchy. He must have felt desperate and alone. Speaking of mixed emotions, he wanted to protect himself and his throne, but at the same time he did not want to harm his own child. Driven into the wilderness and deprived from all other sources of satisfaction the intensity of David’s thirst for God was magnified.

 

We are all thirsty for God, but it is difficult to recognize that desire outside of dire circumstances. If you are going through difficult times today, why not use this as an opportunity to draw nearer to God. For those who love Christ, remember that God will providentially use what harms you to help you (Romans 5:3-5,8:28). If you are not going through tough times today pray that God will grant you an increased desire for Him that your joy may be increased in Him. (Psalm 16:11).  

 

 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)