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." - Psalm 63:1
Have you recently had a bad day? A bad week? A bad couple of months? In Psalm 63 David, after previously ruling as king, is now on the run in the desert, his own son now upon the throne after leading an insurrection against him. Now that sounds like a lousy couple of months! Now, even if we have a hard time relating to this exact experience, David’s song gives voice to something that we all are likely to experience at some point in our life, if we haven’t already: the profound existential and spiritual thirst that nothing can quench. His entire being—heart, mind, soul, and strength—longs for God with the same desperation as someone lost in a scorching desert dying of thirst.
So what sustains David? Memory. Notice how David recalls past encounters with God's glory that nourish him in the present moment and salve his distress. When we find ourselves spiritually dry, thirsting for God, sometimes remembering how God has shown up in the past is how we find water.
Unfortunately, during the most dry and arid seasons of our lives, it may seem like no such memory is available to us. So we go looking for water elsewhere, hoping to beat the odds. And we find that today’s world is all too happy to offer us an oasis—success, pleasure, validation, distraction, escape, self-justification—but these quickly turn out to be mirages, the eyes of the heart playing tricks on us, our mouths dry, cracked, and full of sand. Because, only one Source truly satisfies.
Like a desert well that must be dug deep into the earth in order to draw up water, we too may have to dig deep in order to find that which truly satisfies. But “deep” doesn’t necessarily mean it will be difficult. “Deep” simply means substantive, foundational, not superficial or shallow, but lasting and satisfying—the kind of water that Jesus offers.
Today, acknowledge your soul's deepest thirst and turn to the only One who can truly satisfy.
May we all take up the words of the women at the well, who after being offered Living Water by Jesus, replied, “Sir give me this water!”
- Chaz H.