This week we continue our theme of seeking God as we take a look at seeking God earnestly. This is the perfect conclusion to this series we are in because as we learn to seek God earnestly we will naturally tend to seek Him early and eagerly. Let’s begin by taking one more look at the verse that started this theme of seeking God, Psalm 63:1. David says, “O 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.”
In this verse David compares his longing for God to thirst. I love this comparison. It is very powerful yet very easily understood. The type of thirst David is describing here is not a small thirst. This is an extreme thirst. David says his “flesh faints” as if he is in a “dry and weary land where there is no water.” David is parched, dehydrated, in desperate need of a drink.
I am not the best at drinking enough water every day. I prefer tea, sodas, sports drinks, or juices. However, there are times that my level of thirst is so extreme that only water will satisfy me. After working outside in the heat of an Alabama summer day for several hours (or sometimes only after a few minutes) my body begins to signal to me through my thirst that it needs water. The longer I go without drinking the greater this thirst grows and the greater my need for water gets. In those extreme times of thirst, my desire for tea or coke decreases and my body only desires the one real liquid it needs. This is the type of thirst that David is describing.
Our body has a natural longing or thirst for water but often times we have a tendency to try to appease that thirst with a lesser alternative. Similarly, our soul has a natural longing or thirst for God but often times we have a tendency to try to appease that thirst with a lesser alternative. Most of the drinks I consume could be labeled as junk, just as the things that I turn to in my attempts to satisfy my soul are junk. This tendency to turn to alternative drinks shrinks when the heat of summer turns up. The temperature outside and the amount of water I drink has a direct correlation. Similarly, when the heat of life turns up, I seem to seek more of God. Tough times in my life and the amount of time I spend with God have a direct correlation.
As I read Psalm 63:1 I picture a desert when David says “a dry and weary land, where there is no water.” This desert is hot, dry, and seemingly empty. My throat felt dry thinking about it. But.. then the picture in my head changed. I no longer saw a physical desert, but a spiritual desert. I was reminded of some of those tough moments in my life where I felt hopeless and empty. When we are in a physical desert, our body’s thirst is heightened to a level that all we long for is water and no alternative will satisfy us. When we are in a spiritual desert our soul’s thirst is heightened to a level that all we long for is God and no alternative will satisfy us. This is the thirst for God that David is describing here. It is not just a craving for water, but a deep desire and longing that must be filled.
When we understand this level of desire that David was describing, we understand why he tells God “earnestly I seek you.” David doesn’t seek God just because he likes to, because it is fun, or because someone told him he should. David seeks God because his soul longs for God’s goodness. David seeks God because his soul craves forgiveness. David seeks God because his soul demands God’s presence. David seeks God out of need and not just out of want. This is what seeking God earnestly looks like.
Looking back I am thankful for the times I was in a spiritual desert. During those times my thirst for God was heightened and I was in a state that I realized God, and only God, could fully satisfy my soul’s thirst. Can you recall a time where you were in a spiritual desert? Are you in a spiritual desert now? Do you have a sense that your soul longs for something and you just can’t figure it out? That is your soul’s thirst for God. That thirst is why we must seek God earnestly. Spiritual deserts seem like a bad place to be. However, it is in these deserts that our soul’s longing increases and we search earnestly to satisfy it. We must heed the words of John 7:37 where Jesus cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” Seek God earnestly in His Word and in prayer, and drink from Him. He will satisfy your souls thirst.
