Thirsty Yet?
By David Brown
Where is God? That’s the question so many are asking as we watch our culture sliding into the depths of hell itself. Where is God when so many have died from the pandemic, so many businesses have been lost, so little time has been spent with our elderly loved ones, so much of our usual activity has been curtailed or stopped completely?
Where is God as we hear about mass shootings, murders, hate crimes and insane responses verbalized by disingenuous, self seeking leaders and famous personalities. Where is God as our world goes absolutely crazy, people live in fear and positive hopes for tomorrow are dashed time and time again?
Where is God?
Well, God is right where He has always been! God is on His throne in heaven and in the heart of every genuine believer. So what is He doing? He’s watching our every move, capturing our every tear and cognizant of our every motive. And He’s waiting. He’s waiting for us to become thirsty. Thirsty for Him!
God wants to be sought after! It’s just the way He is. I think we often think about what He could “do” for us (His acts) but we more often forget about his personality (His ways). The primary purpose of mankind is to be in relationship with God. He is our maker and we are made for Him! When we go our “own way” nothing works correctly. We weren’t created to go our own way. We were created to walk with Him! His great desire is that we would want Him!
In order to walk with Him, we have to desire Him!. We must desire him more than anything. This is what Jesus meant I think, when he reminded us of the first and great commandment…to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind and soul! In other words, we must be thirsty for Him!
When a man is lost in the desert and becomes thirsty, really thirsty, he will seek for water before anything else. He doesn’t care about the latest news, latest styles, latest movie or the latest public opinion poll. All he cares about is finding water. He must have water and he will look for it till he finds it…or he’ll die trying! That’s thirst!
So…are we thirsty yet? This is the real question. It’s not, “where is God”? It’s “are we thirsty for God?”. God is waiting for us to get thirsty! His words for the human race reflect this…and include wonderful promises to those who thirst for Him.
And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for
me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
“All you people who are thirsty, come! Here is water for you to drink.
Don’t worry if you have no money. Come, eat and drink until you are full!
You don’t need money. The milk and wine are free.
Why waste your money on something that is not real food?
Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you?
Listen closely to me and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the food that
satisfies your soul.
Listen closely to what I say. Listen to me so that you will live.
I will make an agreement with you that will last forever. It will be an agreement you can trust, like the one I made with David— a promise to love him and be loyal to him forever.
Isaiah 55:1-3
God promises that we will find Him and that He will love us and be loyal to us…when we are thirsty enough to seek Him with all our hearts!
The Apostle Peter revealed this same truth to a street crowd in Jerusalem. He said…
Repent (change your thinking) ye therefore and be converted (turned around)
that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come
from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 3:19
Peter set the stage for all God wanted to do for his generation and ours! He said if we would change the way we think and turn toward God (instead of walking in our own ways and chasing our own desires)…that “times of refreshing” will come to us from God’s presence! I believe that promise is good for a sinner who desires salvation from sin, for a backslider who wants a fresh start with God…and for the church that needs God’s presence, refreshing, and a new and powerful move of God’s Spirit to face todays challenges!
Many believers today are waiting around for God to send revival…waiting for God to move…waiting for Him to fix all our problems. But, God is waiting on us to thirst! To become thirsty for Him! He himself is our answer. He himself is our salvation. He himself is our supernatural, divine help. We must thirst for Him!
I believe that slowly and surely, the body of Christ is getting thirsty! I believe our best days are truly just ahead! I believe we are on the brink of a huge, powerful, move of God. I think our pain will push us toward God. Our misery is motivating us toward our only hope. Today, we have so many advantages, so much free time, so many conveniences, modern tools and powerful technology. We have great facilities, wonderful equipment and media platforms that can make any ministry a worldwide outreach. The stage is set for a huge in gathering of souls into God’s kingdom. Make no mistake though. All of our advantages are for nought…without Him! God spoke to us about the way we have tried to replace Him in our lives with other things that produce no result.
…my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the
fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water.
Jeremiah 2:13
You see, our advantages, our technology, tools, methods, systems and magnetic personalities are not enough, not near enough. All the things we can produce ourselves are just broken cisterns, cracked, broken, compromised… and they can’t hold water. Living water must come from the fountain of living waters…God himself!
There is no substitute for God’s presence, His giftings, His character, His power and His miraculous! If we are to have Him with us, we must seek and find him. Not to walk with us…but so that we would walk with Him! It’s His Kingdom we seek. It’s His presence we need! It’s His love and loyalty we must thirst for!
Are you thirsty yet?