What Are You Thirsting For?

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 42:1-2 NIV

From August 4th through 24th our congregation engaged in a time of praying and fasting. During this time there were various petitions we placed before the Lord, everyone decided what they were abstaining. For me there were multiple things that I abstained from during this time but one of them was soda. I do not want to say I cannot live without soda, but it is something about an ice-cold soda that just quenches my thirst or desire before going to bed. I mean the flavors vary from Tahitian Treat, Cream Soda, Fruit Splash Ginger Ale, Pepsi or Coke, etc. I can go on and on. During this time of fasting, I replaced my thirst desire with water, I will be honest I do not drink as much as I should, but the replacement helped me realize the benefits of not consuming too much soda.

In these verses the psalter speaks of a longing for God in the same manner that a deer longs for flowing streams. The deer needs streams of water for sustainment and just like us we must long for God, because without God we cannot sustain properly in life. What happens when are longing shifts from wanting God to wanting things that feed our flesh? The thirst that you are trying to quench can it be met through the provisional hand of God or through individuals who you have created a dependency upon for sustainment? It is a good season to think about your thirst and how you are going to quench it. We all come to the place where we “obey your thirst,” but hopefully it is not deceiving us into drinking of ungodly cups.