Thirst

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. - Psalm 63:1 (HCSB)

Jesus satisfies the deepest cravings of my heart. Say that aloud. Sure, you'll sound funny saying it, but why not? Here we go: Jesus satisfies the deepest cravings of my heart. He really, really does. Nothing else quenches our thirst for meaning, purpose, or acceptance.

Here we have David, writing another song in the midst of his struggles. The sub-heading of my Bible says that he was in the wilderness. A place of isolation and loneliness. The wilderness of Judah is a very dry, arid place. Notice the wording David uses.

I thirst for You. My body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

Like many songwriters, David observes the circumstances around him and skillfully applies them symbolically to a deeper truth. Looking around, he sees emptiness. He sees dryness. He is thirsty.

His physical thirst is but a reflection of his spiritual thirst. We know what "thirst" means. The dictionary yields synonyms such as "craving" and "longing." One definition caught my attention: "an uncomfortable feeling caused by the need for something to drink.

You get the picture - it's a matter of necessity. He pines for God. He longs for God in his circumstances. Nothing to quench his thirst. No satisfaction to be found. No comfort to be found. No pleasure that fulfills. No mission or job that instills in him a sense of purpose and meaning.

David looks around and sees that nothing else satisfies. Wealth, power, women - all leave him empty. He has come to terms with the fact that these things don't bring lasting meaning. He finds himself wanting that which can quench the ultimate thirst - God.

He'll quench your thirst for purpose, because His purpose is the only one that brings significance to once's life. He'll quench your thirst for peace, because the world provides nothing but tribulation and suffering. He'll quench your thirst for joy, because everything else in this world is fleeting, temporary pleasures.

This is the part where I'm supposed to tell you to live up to this Psalm. This is the part where I call the song leader, strike up a hymn, and tell you to repent of not living like this. In fact, you may say, "Adam, that's so good. I wish I could live up to this." Listen, friend, I'm not here to beat you up, tell you to do better, or smack you over the head with your failed attempts at obedience. I've saved the best for last... if you're tired of never measuring up and feeling a constant sense of failure, He'll quench your thirst for grace.

Yes, even you. Even you, who feels like a phony every time you step in church, intimidated by all the religious people around you. Even you, who sat under the voice of a well-meaning preacher who told you to do more, try harder, and live better. Even you, who feel like you can never as good as God commands.

That's why He's the thirst-quencher. He quenches that which we can't quench ourselves: our need for righteousness. He sent His Son, Jesus, to become your sin. Guess what? You get to trade places with Him. You get Jesus' righteousness. That's the Good News. That's grace.

And what a sweet drink that is.

I encourage you to read the rest of the Psalm. Look at David's response: it's the same one we have when we realize ALL our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven: worship.

By His Grace,

Adam