"Dying of Thirst?"

There are many things that are a must in our Christian life and walk with God. Then there are a few things that may not be quite as important, but still need to be dwelled on in our walk. Some things must exist and be present if we are to experience God fully and in the way He desires.
Do you remember that wonderful verse in Psalm 42:1? Read the words closely once again:

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”

One of the things that are most important for God’s people is a THIRSTING! We must have a ‘thirsting’ for God and the things of God in our lives. As a pastor, I am sensing a dwindling thirst for God among His people. Don’t misunderstand me...I‘m not saying that God’s people are no longer thirsty, I'm just not sure we’re that thirsty for God. We’re just trying to satisfy our thirst with many other things. Mostly the things of this world. All the while, we are trying to slip God just enough into our lives to keep God happy and His benefits still coming to us!! Of course the problem for us is that the things of this world will never satisfy or quench the thirst we have inside of us.

We thirst for so many things. What are some of the things we find ourselves thirsting for that are not of God? Things like money(or just being rich for the sake of being rich...and we probably wouldn’t share one dime with someone else), personal glory or recognition, immoral sexual practices, revenge on those that have wounded us, and other things that bring a self-sufficiency into our lives that causes us not to need God at all.

The fact is we need God at all times. We need to desire God or thirst for Him each day of life because of who He is and what He does for us and in us. Also, times will come when situations & circumstances will bring periods of spiritual dryness causing us to thirst for God maybe like we never have before. In 1986 two brothers who live in a kibbutz or settlement near the Sea of Galilee made an incredible discovery. As these two Israeli fishermen monitored their equipment on the beaches of Gennesaret, they noticed something they'd not seen before. Something covered with mud glistened in the sun. Upon examination, archeologists determined that what the brothers had discovered was a fishing boat dating from the time of Jesus. The only reason the artifact was discovered was because of a three-year drought, resulting in unusually low water in the lake.

The Bible tells us that in times of spiritual dryness, God may uncover something of fabulous value within us--his presence. That’s what we thirst for...God’s closeness.
I hope in all of our lives that there will always be a thirsting for several things:

1. God’s Will
I hope we will always desire to find, understand, practice, and stay in God’s will!
There’s no where else we need to be but in that place. My wife and I have always said, "We won't nothing more or less than to be in the center of God's Will."

2. God’s Word
The desire to always have a steady diet of God’s Word is a must. Without a thirst for the Word, we will be malnourished children of God.

3. Prayer
The thirst to daily pour our hearts out to God. To communicate with Him what we often can’t tell anyone else.

4. The Preached Word
The thirst to sit under the preached Word of God. God’s truth sometimes hurts. But God’s people must be under the anointing of God’s hand from His preached Word.

5. Saying NO to sin
As there is a thirst for God in our lives, there must be a thirst to say no to sin. As we draw closer to God, we will draw closer to that place where we will actually hate sin.

6. God’s Church
I want to thirst to be in God’s house. Vs.2 of Psalm 42 finds the Psalmist asking ‘where he can go and meet with God.’ One place is God’s church. As each Sunday dawns, do we thirst to be in God’s house?

7. Regina & Thomas
I pray that I will always thirst for the presence of my precious wife and little partner. Without them I am absolutely nothing. With the divorce rate so high these days, it seems men and women are only thirsting for new mates, new families, and new lives.

God’s people not thirsting for Him is like a college baseball team in the NCAA World Series that doesn’t really care whether they hoist the National Championship trophy or not. Wouldn’t that be sad? Are our churches like that today? Are God’s people like that? Do we really care that we’re not real close to God and His church...as maybe we once were?
Are God's people thirsting for God during these days?
I guess we’ll find out this coming Sunday.

Blessings!

Bro. Eric