Monday 1/18/2016 6:40 AM
Two different verses I read today speak about thirsting for
God. Psalm 143:6 reads, “I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a
parched land.” Psalm 63:1 echoes that, “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.” I don’t know that I would ever describe my longing
for God in the same way. There are times when I desire to be with God or to
have him speak to me but I don’t think I have ever been as desperate for God’s
presence as David seems to be in these passages. Was David a drama king, one
who simply exaggerated his feelings so he could write good poetry or good song
lyrics, or did he really experience that kind of desperation for God?
In his book ¡Gracias!,
Henri Nouwen writes, “Nothing is real without deriving its reality from God. This
was the great discovery of St. Francis when he suddenly saw the whole world in God’s
hands and wondered why God didn’t drop it. St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila,
St. John Vianney, and all the saints are saints precisely because for them the
order of being was turned around and they saw, felt, and–above all–knew with
their heart that outside God nothing is, nothing breathes, nothing moves, and
nothing lives.” If I come to that same realization, and believe it, I will be
desperate for God too, just like David.
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