Sunday, May 17, 2009

Soul-thirst

"As the deer longeth after the water brooks, so longeth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" Ps. 42:1, 2

"O send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacle." Ps. 43:3

This is truly the cry of every soul, though only those touched by the grace of God can properly identify the object of their longing. Fallen man, separated from God by Sin, has an infinitely deep abyss in their soul that only the infinite can fill. Until they hear the gospel preached and have faith spark in their hearts, they will constantly chase every other thing under the sun. We often view some men's extravagance and folly as an occasion for scorn. It ought to be an occasion for pity: they are desperately trying to fill what only God can fill.
The child of God must not forget this desire; yet we are always in danger of leaving our first love. We are always in the hand of God, but how often we forget that hand! Can we say that the sentiment of the Psalmist is truly our sentiment? Is our life filled with creeds and service and playing church with utter apathy towards the living God, or are all things mere occasions to be drawn towards Him and away from all other things including yourself? Push it even further: do we let His "light" and "truth" lead us unto Him, or do we substitute Him for those things? Let God be our one desire, and let all else be that which transports us to Him and Him alone.

-Jon Vowell

"Revive Thy work, O Lord,
Create soul-thirst for Thee;
And hungering for the Bread of Life
O may our spirits be."
-Albert Midlane ("Revive Thy Work, O Lord")

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