1 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.
6 I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.
9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin. They will go down into the depths of the earth.
10 They will die by the sword and become the food of jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God. All who trust in him will praise him, while liars will be silenced.
If you've ever smoked you know what it's like to crave a cigarette. Even long after the deadly chemicals have left your system...there are still times when you get a longing. The only people who never long for a cigarette are those who never smoked. We tell them they are lucky.
Cravings are bad.
Sort of...but that craving tells us something. It tells us something important about our lives. In this case it tells us we had a relationship with nicotine that may have been improperly managed. So the craving plays an important informative role in our lives. The same is true of food, alcohol or drugs...nearly anything we can consume.
Potato chips!
Cravings can be good, because they remind us of important relationships that continue...and are positive. After a long run our bodies crave oxygen and water. The deficit is evident and we gasp for it. The only people who never long for oxygen are not breathing.
When was the last time we craved God? I mean really had a physical reaction to His lack of presence in our lives? David did. "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. "
"My soul thirsts for you. My spirit feels parched and dry." This tells us a lot about David. It tells us he had a relationship with God that was very intimate. So intimate, in fact, that when the intimacy faded his entire being felt the craving. He had felt the richness of God's presence in his life and it was addictive. He couldn't thrive without it. "Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!"
Craving for God doesn't happen nearly often enough in my life. Maybe that tells me I've never developed a spiritual addiction for his presence. Perhaps I've been more of a "recreational" user. It's not a question of salvation. It's a question of whether or not I've ever really gotten "hooked" on God.
David says "I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night." Perhaps that's a place we can begin sorting this out. Tonight I'm going to "lie awake" and think...meditate...on why I don't feel this craving as often as I should. I'm sure I already have some ideas but I'll bet God will bring even more clarity.
I should prepare for a long night, but David says "You satisfy me more than the richest feast." I know that to be true. So my small investment should reap lasting dividends.
Live boldly out there today...
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