People long for relationships. On any given day at your favorite coffee shop, you will find people chatting with each other while the aroma of freshly pressed coffee fills the air. You will notice other people connecting with friends through Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. And through dating websites, people initiate conversations with others to see where those conversations may lead.
Whether you realize it or not, we all are made for a relationship with the God of the universe. One writer talks about his desire to connect with God:
As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God. (Psalm 42:1-2)
The writer makes a great comparison. Just like a deer’s instincts draw it to fresh, life-sustaining water to drink, in the same way the writer is drawn toward God. The deer cannot survive without water. The writer knows that he cannot survive without God. The deer is refreshed and energized by the water. The writer is refreshed and energized by God.
I find the same to be true in my life as well. As a young man, I realized that God was drawing me into an eternal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. I realized that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin, and that He rose from the grave, conquering death, hell and the grave forever. When these realities sunk in, I verbalized a prayer to God asking Him to forgive me of my sin and trusting in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life. I could not save myself. He saved me. He changed my life.
When I began that relationship with God, I had an immediate sense of peace and joy, an awareness of the fact that Holy Spirit was now living in my life, and a desire to know God more and more. I had a thirst to read God’s Word, the Bible, and to know what He had to say to me through His Word. God’s life-sustaining Word has been my guide for living from that day until today.
And I long for more. I long for God. I long for the living God. Like the writer says: “As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2).
What that means is that every day when I read the Bible – whether it be one verse or an entire chapter or more – I am reading the very words of God. And these words guide my life. And because they are so good, so powerful and so true, I am drawn to read more tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.
These words get into my heart, into my thinking, into my soul. When I’m faced with a decision in life, I find that God helps me. He guides me through His Holy Spirit speaking to my heart, reminding me of the words in the Bible.
So here is my encouragement to you: read God’s Word daily. A good resource for daily Bible reading is YouVersion. And as you read the Bible daily, think about those words throughout the day, and put them into practice as His Words guide your life. You will find answers for living and guidance for life. And the answers will be so good that they will leaving you longing for more.
Stay thirsty, my friends. Thirsty for God.
Good message Derek as always!
Thx Mary!