Thirsty for God

"My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is."   Psalm 63:1b

My dad, Henry Lipps, supported his family of nine children by working in the log woods. In his day, logging was done with a saw and a team of mules. It was hard work. The kind of work that could quickly create a thirst in the human body. One particular day, my dad sat down under a tree to rest, and as was customary for him, he began talking to the Lord. My dad said, "Lord, I sure would love to have some good cold water." He said the Lord spoke to him and told him to look to his side. He saw a patch of moss, and coming up from it was a stream of water. My dad said that no water had ever tasted better. He went back later to the same spot, and there was no sign of the water.

Working in the heat gave my dad a lifelong appreciation for water. He never testified in church nor prayed without thanking God for good water.

The medical profession tells us that we can go days, even weeks, without food, but we need water every day. Thirst is a powerful urge. I saw this first-hand last week. Our elderly cat Roxy became ill and quickly stopped eating. She began showing signs that she was nearing the end of her life. She had no interest in food, but we watched for several days as she forced her weak body to get up and drink water.

If only my thirst for God was that strong and compelling!

Much of the United States has suffered drought this year. Our community went for several weeks this summer with no rain. The lack of water caused the ground to become dry and cracked, and the grass began turning brown. Natural droughts can cause serious problems: a shortage of food, higher prices, and wildfires, to name a few.

Those things are alarming, but as Christians, the thing that should concern us the most is the spiritual drought in the body of Christ. There is a lack of the presence and rain of the Holy Spirit in our churches.

David said he had a thirst for God. His body, soul, and spirit longed for God. Thirst is an insatiable longing for water. If thirst becomes strong enough, it cannot be ignored or conquered by willpower. The church needs to wake up and realize that nothing will satisfy the spiritual body except the " Living Water"  Jesus Christ.

In the last year and a half, we have gone through things we never imagined would happen. Some things cause natural thirst: hard work, the sun, exercise, fever, even salt. Could it be possible that God is allowing things to occur that will create a thirst for Him in the hearts of His people?

The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed the spiritual drought that has existed for several years in the American church. It's probably safe to say that every church in this nation has members that have never returned since the government ordered shut-down last year. The fall-out from COVID-19 has revealed the dry, apathetic, lukewarm condition of many churchgoers.

We need a thirst for God to survive spiritually. David wrote Psalm 63 while hiding in the wilderness of Judea, but his heart longed to be back worshiping in Jerusalem. His entire being was crying out for fellowship with God. He craved the presence of God that he had experienced in the sanctuary.

"To see Thy power and Thy glory so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary."   Psalm 63:3

Those of us who have been saved for several years know that we do not have the power of God in our lives and churches that previous generations had. David's spiritual longing for God was as intense as the thirst of a traveler in a waterless desert.

       Sometimes it takes a mountain,

      Sometimes a troubled sea,

      Sometimes it takes a desert,

      To get a hold of me

      Songwriters: Mark Mathes/Gloria L Gaither

God will allow trials and tests in our lives to create a thirst for Him, but if all else fails, He will lead us to a desert.

In the book of Genesis, when Hagar fled in fear from her mistress Sarai, the Angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness. She named the well  Beer-la-hai-roi  in honor of the Lord.  Beer-la-hai-roi , or "the well of the living One who sees me," is deep in the Negev desert. Even though Hagar found water in this dry, barren place and had an encounter with the Lord, she did not remain there. Hagar is an example of people who only pray and seek God in times of trouble.

On the other hand, the Bible says, " Isaac dwelt by the well Beer-la-hai-roi."  Genesis 25:11b   The well of the all-seeing God became his constant source of supply. Too many Christians are fearful, anxious, discontented, empty, cold, and indifferent. Their spiritual reservoir has dried up. The problem is that they are not living at the well. Jesus wants to be to us,  "a well of water springing up into everlasting life."  John 4:14b

There is an ancient tale from India about a young man who was seeking God. He went to a wise old sage and asked, "How can I find God?" The old man took him to a river, and they waded into the deep water until it was just under their chins. Suddenly the old man seized the young man by the neck and pushed him under the water. He held him down until the young man was flailing the water in desperation.

Up out of the water, the two of them came. The young man was coughing and gasping for air. When they reached the bank of the river, he asked the old man indignantly, "What did that have to do with my finding God?" The old man quietly asked, "While you were under the water, what did you want more than anything else?" The young man answered, "I wanted air! I wanted air more than anything else!" The old man replied, "When you want God as much as you wanted air, you will find him."

"And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29:13

"Many people seem to be interested in knowing God for what they can get out of Him. They do not seem to understand that God wants to give Himself. God being Who He is must always be sought for Himself, never as a means toward something else. The mighty God, the maker of Heaven and earth will not be  one  of many treasures, not even the chief of  all  treasures. He will be all in all or He will be nothing." ~ A.W. Tozer

Tozer also prayed, " O God, I want Thee. I long to be filled with longing, and I thirst to be made thirsty still."

My prayer is that God will create a thirst within me so intense that I cannot drown out its voice, and my entire being will yield to its power!