I want to drink God, deep drafts of God. I’m thirsty for God-alive. Ps.42:1 TM
We all get thirsty. It is a basic, bodily function which must be satisfied. Without water our body would die. To express his deepest thirst the psalmist uses the metaphor of a deer which will by-pass stagnant, muddy water to reach clear, stream water. He is as thirsty for God ‘as desert is for rain’ 143:6 TM. The dictionary defines thirst as longing, yearning. Jesus used thirst to express the human universal, fundamental, spiritual longing for God. He invited everyone ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink’, Jn.7:37 ‘I will give living water’, an offer he also gave to the Woman of Samaria, Jn.4:14.
The human being is subject to various thirsts. Our natural thirst begins after birth with our search for milk to give strength to our bones and bodies. This is followed by the non-verbal action of a smile and outstretched arms indicating a thirst for a relationship to satisfy the longing to be hugged, to belong and be loved. As we grow these initial attempts mature into the human desire for acceptance, appreciation, and loving relationships which satisfy our normal physical, emotional and mental needs for a healthy life.
We have a thirst for knowledge. Our entire educational system of schools, universities, libraries, laboratories and research centres is designed to provide a means of satisfying this thirst, or hunger. We have erected enormous technical stations to find out what may be ‘out there’ in space. We want to know. Our thirst has taken humans on ventures into space travel. We have erected huge computerized operations to assist us. We have an arsenal of facts, figures and details on constellations, black holes and microscopic creatures at our finger tips. Our curiosity is insatiable. What, where, when and how are the questions prefacing our quest for knowledge. This thirst ‘to find out’ has motivated us to push boundaries, cross oceans and take risks. By venturing into the unknown, exploration has led to discovery transcending previous limitations, dispelling the ‘dragons of ignorance’.
We have a thirst to possess. The modern consumer market gears its production centres and factories to stimulate and satisfy this thirst. Its advertising programmes use every imaginable technique to entice the consumer with persuasive language and the latest model. ‘Order now pay later’ has led many into the trap of debt. When young we are asked “What do you want to be, or do when you grow up?” Ambition has led some to competitively strive for position and power. The thirst to possess led David astray, then murder. International dictators and leaders, losing all respect for human rights, dignity, liberty and freedom have designed invasions and instigated wars to take possession of lands beyond their own borders. Their thirst or greed has driven them to obsession, taking them beyond reason to destroy communities, upset economies and national stability and become a threat to world peace.
The philosopher Eric Fromm summarized our basic thirsts into ‘having’ and ‘being’. Recognizing our basic needs the Bible speaks to the dangers of ‘having’ and places greater value on ‘being’. All religions, world-wide are shaped by the thirst of the human spirit for God. The psalmist expresses this consuming longing or passion and cries to God ‘My soul thirsts for you, my whole being longs for you in a dry and parched land where no water is‘. 63:1. Jesus recognized this human thirst and said ‘if you are thirsty for God, come to me and drink and I will give you living water’. The spring of living water that will satisfy me lies in Christ. God seeks to quench the thirsts we all have his way not ours. His solution is – by giving himself. ‘When Jesus speaks of ‘thirsting for righteousness’ this is not little sips, but drinking deep. Eugene Peterson translates Mt.5:6 ‘You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat’. God cannot impart himself to us if our hearts are polluted with alternative, but deceptive thirst quenches common in today’s society.
We have to ask ourselves what are my present thirsts? Are they focused on having or being? How deep is my hunger for God and his word? Am I too content with small portions, or little sips? Do I still feel parched looking for something to drink, ready to sample anything suitable to my taste? A recovering alcoholic knows he needs the help of a Power greater than himself and the company of others. If we want to satisfy our spiritual thirst let us learn from his action. In his comment on Ps.42 Peterson says “I don’t want what is left over from God after last week’s thundershower. I want him fresh, flowing, living. What I learned from Sunday School in third grade won’t satisfy me. What I read in the Bible last week won’t satisfy me. What someone told me this morning on television or the radio won’t quench my thirst. I want to get the water myself. I have to have God. Every thirst, every hunger, every longing for satisfaction is a metaphor for the fundamental longing in our lives for God”. ’Drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God’ 1 Pet.2:2 TM