Quench
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The following article has been excerpted from Called to the Wild by Christopher Lawrence.
You God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
-Psalm 63:1
The thought of a cold, refreshing drink haunted me as I walked the dusty mountain trail of the Bob Marshall Wilderness—one million miles of pristine National Forest Service land in western Montana.
The summer sun scorched the landscape, and our itinerary grew ambitious: a 24-mile hike, including the summit of a mountain. Eager to compete, my friends and I pushed the pace faster and faster, eventually running up the peak.
Near the summit, I ran out of water, though we still had the 12-mile return trip.
My lips grew chapped and my throat dry. The thought of a cold drink consumed my thoughts for the next several hours. I imagined droplets beading up around a cold glass, an orange Gatorade even. Once my mind fixated on a cool drink, I could think of little else.
The psalmist David identified with such thirst, and he used this illustration to show his desire for God. Scholars say David wrote Psalm 63 after fleeing from his son, Absalom, who led an uprising against his father, David.
David grew desperate. Beyond just physical thirst, he yearned for the safety of God’s presence.
This also proves true for us: God alone quenches our deepest thirsts. Recognizing this truth helps lead us to satisfaction.
While being pursued, David recalled times of walking closely with God. “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory,” he writes in Psalm 63:2,3. “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”
To say that God’s love is “better than life” seems lofty, but it’s true. We may desire many things, but none fully quench our soul’s longing like God can.
“God, and God alone, is man’s highest good,” wrote the Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck. God is the source and sustainer of all good and is “the abundant fountain of all goods.”
Human beings can only live for about one week without water. How is it that we can take long breaks without drinking big gulps of God’s presence? Like a lizard lounging in the searing desert sun, living in a fallen world constantly sucks the moisture of God’s presence from our souls.
The path to fulfillment starts with recognizing our thirst. Do we believe God quenches us, or do we search elsewhere? Sometimes we try to drink from several streams—a little here, a little there. But only one satisfies.
We need to come to him and drink. If we aren’t thirsty, we need to consider what lesser streams we are drinking from. Coming to God, we find an artesian well of satisfaction that will not run dry.
As Jesus said in John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
Our thirst will finally be quenched.
Question:
From what streams are you tempted to satisfy your thirst with other than God?
Prayer:
Lord, I know that only you can satisfy the deepest longings of my heart. Please help me experience true satisfaction in you today and turn from lesser streams. Amen.
From one Adventurer to Another
Called to the Wild is a 40-day journey filled with thrilling adventure stories and poignant Biblical meditations, through which outdoor guide and Cru campus minister, Chris Lawrence, helps readers overcome fear and self-doubt by learning to follow Jesus as their trustworthy Guide through life’s every adventure.
