Saturday, February 5, 2011

Are you thirsty?

2/5/11 This month hubby and I have decided not to “drink” any calories. That’s a “toughy” for me, so I’m grateful it’s a short month. I, unlike hubby, am not an artificial sweetener person. I like my cuppa with real sugar, and more than one lump is needed. I’m a sweet tea kinda gal. That other stuff just doesn’t cut it for me. It doesn’t satisfy. I have a taste for the real thing though I admit that cutting back on my sugar intake has probably been healthier for me. I have even tried the natural sweetener, Truvia,™ a few times but basically I’ve quit drinking much. That’s really not a good thing. Dehydration can appear pretty quickly, so I’ve been carrying around a big glass of water to ward off these symptoms. I don’t like that parched sensation. I long for that sip of “sweet tea” but drink good ole pure Memphis tap water instead.

Just last week, Dr. Crawford Loritts spoke of thirst in the Bible as being a picture of deep longing. He reminded us that though there are sometimes droughts in our soul, those droughts can be beneficial because they increase our longing for Him.

Water for our physical life is a matter of life and death. Spiritually it’s much the same. Psalm 42:1-2 gives us a picture of that truth. The deer in the verse pants longingly at the moving stream---he’s drinking from a living stream, not some dead stagnant pond. It’s where he gets his refreshment and satisfaction. We thirst with a longing and yearning from our inmost being. The cry of our soul thirsts for the living God. Nothing else will do.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Are you thirsty?