We take cool water for granted. It is at our fingertips most any time and we can drink before we even feel true thirst. Its easy access makes us complacent to how fundamental it is to our health and survival.
But in a desert, everything cries out for water – the animals, the people, even the plants and land. Every drop is eagerly gathered and used. David, the psalmist, was a desert man and his writings reflect his environment. His body knew dehydration. His throat had been parched. His lips became dusty and cracked. He took this extreme thirst and used it as a picture for his desire for God, expressing his dependence on Him. As he looked about the barren wilderness, he wrote:
“As a deer pants for water, so my soul pants for You, O God.” Psalm 42:1
Thirst is a visceral desire that can be overwhelming. When thirst hits a certain level, nothing else matters. Have you felt thirst like that? There is no enjoyment of pleasures, no satisfaction in rest, and even thinking and vitality suffer. Have you ever sought after God with that intensity – a yearning so intense that nothing else mattered? David did. He realized God alone was the source of life and nothing else would satisfy.
We all experience desert times in our life, but we can learn from the psalmist how to survive, even thrive. Although he is in a spiritually dry place, David chides himself at the end of the psalm. He remembers God’s character and he trusts in Him. “Why are you downcast, my soul? Put your hope in God.” David reminds himself where his true hope is found, where his thirst can be quenched.
If you experience some heat and physical thirst this summer, let it be a picture for you of our need for and pursuit of God. And, if you find yourself aware of your spiritual thirst, be sure your pursuit and hope is in God alone, the true Living Water.
