Thirsty for God
Mark Roberts writes: ‘On a hike…we spotted a peak that seemed to be just a couple of [kilometres] further, so we headed for it. By the time we conquered the peak we’d used up almost all of our water. Our return…was mercifully downhill, but there was not even a tiny stream to satisfy our nagging thirst… I spent three hours longing for water, thinking of nothing else besides how wonderful it would feel to finally get a drink.’ When David wrote, ‘My soul thirsts for You… in a dry and weary land where there is no water,’ his enemies were pressing in on him and he wondered if God had forgotten him. Ever been there? Your pain is unbearable and God feels distant? Just as physical thirst is your body’s way of telling you that you need water, inside you there’s a spiritual thirst only God can quench. And He will: ‘...[When you] require Me [as a vital necessity]…[you will] find Me when you search…with all your heart.’ (Jeremiah 29:13 AMP) Half-hearted efforts won’t cut it! One Bible teacher says: ‘The only way to know God is… first-hand. Those who are content to know Him through a second-hand relationship don’t really know Him… They want others to pray for them rather than praying themselves… to provide the verse rather than reading it themselves. They’re content with a TV church, or a sermon on the internet… Every person needs to test God… to see if He is who He says… if His promises are true… if He’ll answer your prayers… if He’ll be there when you need Him… if He’ll give you wisdom, strength, endurance and perseverance…He is, they are, and He will—every time.’