Have You Ever Been Thirsty?

As the deer pants for the water brook, so pants my soul for You, O God

(Psalm 42:1)

Have you ever been thirsty?  I mean really thirsty.  The type of dry mouth where your inner lips stick to the sides of your teeth, making it difficult to talk?  Your throat is so parched it hurts?
Those of us who take certain medication may experience that level of thirst.

There is another type of thirst that we sometimes experience, perhaps without realizing it.  It is thirst of a spiritual nature. The Holy Spirit, living inside believers, creates a thirst - a desire - for more and more of Jesus and His Word.

Looking at what is involved in quenching our physical thirst, we can see a picture of what it takes to satisfy the spiritual thirst.

Physically speaking, most of us don’t think about getting a drink until we realize we are thirsty. When our body is crying out for water, we may turn, instead, to something else - tea, coffee, lemonade, soda, or even food.  Even though they are moist, they will not quench the thirst like water.

Thirst of a spiritual nature is when the inner being is crying out for time alone with Jesus .  When we experience it, we may turn to other means of satisfying the longing - career, financial gain, adventures, relationships, entertainment, or even religious activities.  While these in and of themselves may be okay, they do nothing to satisfy the inner longing to spend time alone with Him.

Water serves to aid many parts of the body in addition to quenching the thirst.  Time spent along with Jesus, the Living Water, like routinely taking a drink of water, will become an enjoyable habit that enhances every other area of life.

Once drinking water has become routine, we must continue to hydrate or we will fall out of the habit and the cycle will need to be started all over again.  The same is true of our time with Jesus.  Life gets busy and unless we are careful to maintain our time with Him, it will slip farther and farther away until eventually our thirst will be ignored or go unnoticed. 

So hard to find in a busy day,
some quiet time to slip away
from all that fills me hands and mind,
to a private place my Lord to find.
I long to be alone with Him,
my trusted Savior, Counselor, Friend;
I cherish every moment there
as  Friend to friend our thoughts we share.
When I must turn and walk away, 
back to the duties of the day,
the road seems easier as I trod,
because for a while I sat with God.

Glenda Collins Inman