As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
~Psalm 42:1-2
I am part of a group of modern day psalmists. Together we explore the deep connection between poetry and prayer. At any given meeting a word or phrase from a poem we share turns into a prayer. Or vice versa, a word or phrase from a spoken prayer becomes the infrastructure for a poem. Recently, I was struck by the following phrase: “God wants me thirsty.”
We have had so many hot summer days in Northern California that physical thirst has taken me by surprise. In those thirsty moments, I add a few ounces of cool water to my cup and drink just as the deer who visit and drink Sierra snowmelt flowing through the river near my home.
Moreover, just like the deer in Psalm 42 who is drawn to flowing streams because they are thirsty, I am often so spiritually thirsty that I am drawn to streams flowing with God’s living water. And I wonder. Does God want me thirsty?
I am inclined to think that God allows me to be thirsty so that I am found by him rather than found at my familiar watering hole. When you and I appear before God thirsting for what is right and good, then blessing, happiness and satisfaction become cups of cold water we offer to others who are thirsty.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.” ~Matthew 5:6
Thank You, Lord for making us thirsty.
Come Learn Rest Ministries 