Thirsting for God

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

"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 God?" Psalm 42:1-2

There is a thirst which no earthly fountain can quench. It is the thirst of an immortal soul for the living God.

The psalmist does not say, "My soul thirsts for Your blessings."
He does not say, "My soul thirsts for relief from my troubles."
He does not even say, "My soul thirsts for heaven."
He says, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

Here is the language of a heart which has been awakened by divine grace, to behold the supreme excellence and beauty of God Himself.

By nature, there is no such thirst within us. Fallen man does not naturally pant after God. Scripture declares, "There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God" (Romans 3:11). The natural heart may seek happiness, prosperity, religion, morality, pleasure, reputation, and a thousand other things -- but it does not seek God as its chief treasure. Sin has turned the sinner's heart away from his Maker.

How then does a sinner begin to thirst for God? It is because God first works within him. Salvation is the sovereign work of divine grace in a spiritually dead sinner.
God gives a new heart.
He opens blind eyes.
He removes the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh.
He creates within the sinner new desires which never existed before.

And one of the clearest evidences of this new life, is a holy thirst for God.

The true child of God may know much spiritual dryness. He may pass through dark valleys where the heavens seem silent and the presence of God seems hidden. He may cry, "When can I go and meet with God?" Yet observe the beauty of his lament. He is not merely mourning the loss of comfort -- he is mourning the loss of communion with God.

This is one of the great differences between the natural man and the regenerate man. The natural man can live without God and be satisfied. The believer cannot. He may wander. He may grow cold. He may become entangled with the world. He may for a season neglect prayer and the Scriptures. But when the Spirit of God awakens him, he discovers that nothing else can satisfy his soul. He must have God.

The world continually whispers, "Here is satisfaction." It points to riches, pleasure, possessions, accomplishments, relationships, entertainment, and human applause. The soul drinks, but remains thirsty. It seeks another cup, and another, and another -- yet the thirst remains. Why? Because the soul was made for God, and nothing less than God can fill it.

How solemnly does this expose the emptiness of worldly religion.
There are those who desire the benefits of Christianity, without desiring God Himself.
They want heaven, but not holiness.
They want forgiveness, but not freedom from sin.
They want God's protection, but not God's presence.
They want His gifts, but not the Giver.

But genuine salvation changes this.
It makes the presence of God, more precious than the pleasures of sin.
It makes communion with God, more desirable than the applause of men.
It makes the Word of God, sweeter than the richest treasures of earth.
It makes JESUS, more precious than everything this poor world can offer.

"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

Mark that expression -- "the living God." The believer does not thirst after an idea, a philosophy, a religious system, or an imaginary deity fashioned according to human preference. He thirsts for the living God -- the sovereign, holy, righteous, eternal, omnipotent God revealed in Scripture.

And the more we know Him, the more we desire Him.

This is the strange and glorious nature of spiritual thirst. Earthly thirst is satisfied when we drink. But the more the believer drinks deeply of God, the more he longs to know and love Him.
The more he discovers His holiness, the more he longs for holiness.
The more he tastes His goodness, the more he desires His goodness.
The more he beholds His glory, the more he longs to behold Him.

There is therefore no danger in thirsting too much for God.
We can never desire Him too greatly.
We can never love Him too deeply.
We can never seek Him too earnestly.
We can never have too much of God.

Perhaps this is where our hearts are most exposed. What do we thirst for?

What occupies our thoughts when we are free from earthly duties?
What do we pursue when no one is watching?
What loss would grieve us most deeply?
What possession would we find hardest to surrender?
What do we secretly believe would finally make us happy?

These questions reveal the object of our thirst.

The Christian's highest desire is not merely to escape hell.
It is not merely to enter heaven.
It is not merely to receive blessings.
His deepest desire is God Himself.

"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

And what will heaven be? It will be the full and everlasting satisfaction of this thirst. There, the believer shall no longer cry, "When can I go and meet with God?" There shall be no distance, no darkness, no coldness, no sin, and no interruption of communion. The soul shall behold its Redeemer and delight forever in the presence of its God.

Until that glorious day, may we learn to thirst more deeply.

May God strip away our idols, expose the emptiness of earthly fountains, and make us dissatisfied with every substitute for Himself. May He give us such a hunger for His Word, such a longing for His presence, such a hatred of sin, such a love for JESUS, and such a desire for holiness, that the cry of the psalmist becomes the continual cry of our own hearts: "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God!"

Nothing less than God can satisfy an immortal soul.

And when God Himself becomes the treasure of the heart, everything else falls into its proper place.
(The above was AI generated.)