Joel M Bradshaw

1O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.–Psalm 63

I remember the most thirsty I have every been. It was during football practice ‘hell week’ in the hot August sun. We were in full pads. The coaches called for water and we all ran over to the sidelines. They had erected long PVC pipes with holes drilled along the edges and all hooked to the water source. When they turned on the nozzle, beautiful water arced out of those holes. I don’t even think I took my football helmet off, but let the water shoot through the facemark and into my mouth. I remember drinking and drinking and drinking.

David searched for God. David longed for God. This psalm was when he was in the wilderness. I imagine his team was looking for water then, too. He was probably really thirsty and tired of running. So David used the image to describe the thirst of his very soul. A thirst that you can’t on your own fill.

What do you long for? Recognition? Respect? Love? How about security or comfort? Maybe you have lived with pain or grief. You might be plagued by anxiety or under the heavy weight of depression and shame. You therefore log for relief, for forgiveness and restoration. Reconciliation in the broken relationship.

Or maybe you’re like David. What you look for is not physical or emotional. It’s not social or mental. It’s at the core of your very being. You look for something like purpose, direction, hope. At those levels, only God can truly provide. So you pant for God like a cracked earth yearns for water.

Seek after God. Earnestly seek him and his way. He promises to be found. Repent from your sins and turn back to him. Find your purpose and meaning in a life of trust and obedience to the very God who cares for your soul. Of all the things you search for in life, go to your core and yearn for God.–JMB