A few years back I
completed a marathon in the New Mexico desert, trudging over a mountain,
through deep sand and across the desert flats in searing heat. One thing I
learned that day, walking in the desert creates a deep thirst. It didn't seem
to matter how much water and Gatorade I drank, I was always craving more.
David spoke, in Psalm
63, of the thirst of a deer in the wilderness.
God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
In a dry and desolate
land, a land without water, David experienced thirst. This world offers so many
types of poison water; libations that look satisfying but do not quench the
soul's thirst. Money. Pleasure. Entertainment. Selfish ambition and achievement.
All present themselves as the satisfaction of the soul, but they do not provide
what they promise.
This world is a desert,
a spiritual wasteland. The best if offers is mirages that cannot slake the deep
thirst of the human heart. If we seek contentment, joy and life from this world
we will be deeply disappointed.
But David knew where to
go for the living water, the water of life. He eagerly sought God and thirsted
for him. Not just his blessings or the good things he gives, but for God
himself. His desire for God was so strong that his body actually felt
faint!
God is the source of
life and those who seek him will be satisfied.
Father, you are my life. All too often I forget
that and seek the bitter water of this world or dive into the mirages that
deceive. But you are life and hope and joy, and I seek you.
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