Identify Thirst

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Psalm 42:1–3 "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? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'"

What Is It Speaking to Me?

You ever been really thirsty? I mean really thirsty? If you have ever worked outside in a Missouri summer all day, you know what I am talking about — where your throat feels like a desert, and you would move heaven and earth to get a drink of water. When you are that kind of thirsty, you don't take a slow, stately procession to the nearest source of water. You get there. Fast. You guzzle water, some of it runs down your face, and you don't care. You are just trying to consume as much water as possible in the least amount of time. You ever been that thirsty?

Because that is the kind of thirst the psalmist says his soul has for the living God. That is thirsty. The thing is, we are all thirsty for something, but we often substitute other things to quench our thirst:

• We are thirsty for peace, but we run to our favorite show on Netflix or an extra glass of wine to numb the anxiety that bubbles up every day.

• We are thirsty for significance, so we work too much, chasing achievements that really don't matter, or constantly seeking approval in the workplace.

• We are thirsty for belonging, so we doom-scroll on social media, trying to trick ourselves into thinking that is actual community — or we people-please those around us, hoping we will find even more acceptance than we probably already have.

The problem is none of these substitutes quench our thirst. The psalmist said his tears have been his "food." Whatever substitutes he has been trying aren't working...maybe because they are dead, and his soul is thirsty for the living God. We are designed to thirst; the only question is whether we have aimed our thirst at the right person, or whether we are trying to quench it with substitutes that ultimately leave us dry and thirsty.

The only real question is: What are you thirsty for?

What Is It Saying to You?

• What substitutes have you tried?

• When was the last time you thirsted for God?

What Are We Going to Do About It?

Define what your soul is truly "thirsty" for (e.g. peace, significance, belonging) and bring that thirst to Christ, not a substitute.