I Need a Drink!

The doe burst into the clearing and jerked to a stop, slender legs shaking with exertion. Her heart lurched and her parched tongue flicked from between dry lips.


Water. 

It was all she could think about. Her nostrils flared, straining to catch the scent of a pond, a river, a puddle. Didn't matter. Even a drop of water would be better than nothing.


A pile of corn beckoned from three feet away and tender spring grass was thick beneath her feet, but it held no appeal. Even the vultures circling overhead did not frighten her as every cell of her being yearned for only one thing.

Water. Sweet, cold, refreshing water was her single-minded focus and she would press on until she found it. Nothing else mattered.


That's the picture the Psalmist paints when he writes: "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (Ps. 42:2)


Remember the feeling when you've exerted yourself on a hot summer day? Your thirst builds. You don't want candy. You don't want ice cream, pizza, or even coffee. Every cell of your being craves water. Pure, sweet, cool water. Your mind relishes the thought of it pouring down your throat. Your mouth quivers with desire, longing for a taste. Your limbs shake, your stomach tightens as the need grows stronger.


Entertainment no longer interests you. The trinket that captivated you yesterday is now only an annoyance if it does not bring you closer to your desire. Friends' suggestions recede into background noise as you frantically search for the only thing that can satisfy you at that moment.


That's the kind of thirst God built into the human spirit. When He breathed into man the "breath of life," that breath was an unquenchable thirst for more of Him. A thirst that nothing else quite satisfies--although most people spend their lives trying everything else to make the thirst go away.

The good news is that there is always more of God. You can drink all you want. That aching need can be satisfied. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." The passionate desire for more of God is one he gladly endorses.


Sadly, most of us spend our lives never recognizing that the dissatisfaction we live with is spiritual. We work ourselves into the ground trying to ease the ache on every other level. We throw money at it, earn college degrees, pluck, tweeze, tan, and diet. We buy bigger, fancier, better stuff, and model our lives after those we assume never felt this ache. Some even "try church," as if that half-hearted attempt is as good as it gets, eventually resigning ourselves to the realization that we must live unfulfilled.

Just as that deer will eventually find water if she seeks it long enough, you will find God if you truly seek Him. (Jeremiah 29:12)
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What if that thirsty deer simply denied her need and turned her attention to the pile of corn instead? What if the thirstier she grew, the faster she ate?
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Within a matter of hours, those circling vultures would have a reason to land. Trying to quench thirst with anything but water never works.


And trying to quench a spiritual thirst with anything but God never works either. The world is littered with the dying corpses of those who insist there is another way to be filled. And we watch the vultures of greed, addiction, immorality, and suicide prepare to land.

Are you thirsty? Is there an indefinable ache deep inside, a longing for something you don't quite understand? You may deny God, curse him, ignore him, or fear him. But you long for him anyway. You can't help it. It's how you were created.

If you are already a follower of Christ, can you honestly say with the psalmist, "Earth has nothing I desire besides you"? (Ps. 73:24) If you can't, you are like the thirsty deer perched on the river bank with no way to get to the water. Frustration, burnout, and depression are the vultures watching you.

If you've never truly met God through his Son, Jesus Christ, I invite you to click on the sidebar to discover how to quench that thirst.

There's a source of fresh, cool water just waiting for you!

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