Thirst for God

by The Writers Office Online.com in Religion, June 28, 2011

Daily Bible Reading. How thirsty are you? Read on.

Thirst for God

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” (Psalm 42:1)

Here the Psalmist expresses a great desire for God that unfortunately is not the usual situation with most people today. The Psalmist compares his desire for God to the deer (the hart in our verse is a deer) who is very thirsty for water. From this verse we are told of a vigorous thirst, a virtuous thirst, and a valuable thirst.

Vigorous thirst. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks.” The word translated “panteth” means to have a great longing for something to the extent that it cries out for it. This says the deer had a very vigorous thirst here for water. The Psalmist says his thirst for God is like that. He longed greatly for God. If we had a thirst like that, it would really improve our Bible study, prayer life, and church attendance. But few people today have much true interest in spiritual matters. And much of the world not only lacks a thirst for God but has a great disinterest and dislike of God.

Read more in Religion

« How to Make Westboro Baptist Church Go Away!

Prayer »

Virtuous thirst. “As a hart panteth after the water.” The deer in our verse thirsted after water. That is a legitimate thirst. Water is not evil. But so many thirsts today are not for water but are thirsts for the forbidden. Folk have a very great thirst for such things as booze and drugs and the lusts of the flesh and money and fame and power all of which can corrupt and destroy. But they are not thirsting for the virtuous. Be careful about your thirsts. It is so easy in this age of corruption to develop jaded appetites and thirsts for evil things. Cultivate a thirst for God. No thirst is more virtuous than a thirst for God.

Valuable thirst. “Water.” The thirst for water was a very valuable thirst. It was a thirst that would bring life instead of death. So it is with the spiritual thirst for God. It is the difference between life and death spiritually. No thirst is more valuable than a thirst for God. If you do not thirst for God in this life, you will be without God in the next life which means you will suffer eternal condemnation in hell forever. There you will thirst forever (Luke 16:24) but to no avail.