As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. (Psalm 42:1)
Here is an important question, are we really longing for God? Has a thirst seized us that only the Living Water of Jesus Christ can quench? The Psalmist continues: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:2 ESV) Are we desperate for God? If we were desperate for God, what would that look like in our lives personally and in our church corporately?
We’ve been talking about humility throughout our time together. It is here that the proverbial rubber meets the road. Until we are truly desperate for God, until we thirst for the nourishment that only He can give, I’m not sure our whole hearts will turn to Him. While we still have ourselves convinced that our deliverance will come from another place, I don’t know that we will place our every hope in the hands of the One we truly need.
Pop quiz: what do you call someone or something that you place above God in your life? The answer is an idol. Most of us would be deeply offended if someone ever accused us of having idols, yet many of us have struggled to prioritize our lives correctly. I believe the reason we struggle to correctly prioritize has much to do with our ignorance around the importance of our relationship with Jesus.
I’d like to borrow imagery from the New Testament to give you an illustration. Imagine that for the next week, I was just too busy to eat or drink. Imagine that the demands on my life had me running around without making time to sleep or rest. Imagine at the end of this week how I would be physically and emotionally. I would literally be starving, exhausted, weak, and dying. My lack of physical nourishment would leave me on the verge of death.
Jesus says that He is the bread of life (John 6:35) and living water (John 7:37-39). Some of us are spiritually starving. We make time to sporadically “snack” on Jesus, but we never sit down for a meal. We shoot off some quick prayers throughout the week, but we never really make time to come to Him for rest (Matthew 11:28). Today I want to ask: when is the last time that you intentionally feasted on Jesus and drank deeply from His living water?
As we look back to today’s focal Scripture, the Psalmist gives a visual. Here, a deer is panting for the refreshing nourishment of flowing streams. Although the Psalmist doesn’t tell us, the deer could be thirsty because of the heat of the moment or because of a run from a predator. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter why you are thirsty, the solution is simple: drink. Sticking with the analogy of drinking and eating, how do we eat and drink Jesus? If we are going to be nourished and refreshed, we must know and respond to this question.
To eat and drink Jesus, we consume His Word, we bask in His presence, we pray, praise, and worship Him. Simpler yet, we intentionally, consistently, purposefully make time for Him. There are a series of commercials from Snickers where someone is not acting like themselves because they are hungry. In the commercials, someone says “here, eat a Snickers.” After the person begins eating, they are asked: “how do you feel?” They always respond, “better”. Some of you are hangry (angry because you are hungry) and you don’t even realize it. As your pastor, may I just suggest something? You need to make intentional, daily time to eat and drink Jesus.
If you find yourself irritable, impatient, depressed, angry, distracted, anxious, or numb today, I’d like to challenge you to carefully consider your personal devotion time. Do you long to be in the presence of God each day? Are you willing to acknowledge your dependence on Jesus and then seek Him daily? Are you willing to intentionally make time with Him each day? If so, your whole life is getting ready to change. Trust me, after consistently spending time with the Lord, you will always feel refreshed (see Matthew 11:28-30).
Father, I need you. Every hour I need you. Jesus, I confess there are times and moments where I get distracted by life. I find myself hungry and thirsty spiritually and often become angry, impatient, distracted, and depressed. Lord, in these moments please remind me to come to You. Holy Spirit, I pray you would help me sense my overwhelming need for You each day. Help me intentionally seek You and submit to You as You lead me in my life. Thank you, Lord, that I can find fulfillment, contentment, and rest in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
