Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.”  NASB

WITH CAUTION, I CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO SOMETHING IMPORTANT:

Sometimes, I fear that I make things seem overly easy! There are some conditions to receiving the Spirit and Power of God in our lives to the fullest.  It takes more than just wishful thinking or saying we want it.

John 7:37-39 – “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ” If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'”  39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.” 

I ask that you join me in giving some thought to the conditions required to receive that fullness of God that our hearts crave.

CONDITION NUMBER ONE – “We Must Become Thirsty.”

This means that we must develop the ardent, eager, famishing, keep, and all-consuming craving and passion in our souls for complete union with God and with the fullness of His Spirit. 

In verse 2 of our text chapter, the Psalmist cries, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God….”  In Psalm 63:1, the writer desperately seeks and says, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirst for you, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”  That is thirst!

Psalm 143:6 declares, “I stretch out my hands to You; my soul longs for You, as in a parched land.”  The picture is incredibly clear, to find God and have our spiritual thirst quenched, we must become desperately and earnestly thirsty!  He must become the most important pursuit of our lives.

In Isaiah 41:17, the prophet speaks of the afflicted and needy seeking water, but no water to be found.  Their tongues are parched from lack of water.  God promises in the next verse that He will open rivers on the bare heights and send springs in the midst of the valley.  No matter where they were, there would be that desired spiritual water! 

Then, in Isaiah 44:3-4, “For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants; 4 And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.”  

What a picture! If we seek Him, we will find Him.  If we develop this kind of thirst, we will be satisfied.

Elisha had that kind of thirst in 2 Kings 2, seeking a double portion anointing.  He followed Elijah to Gilgal, to Bethel, then to the Jordan.  He refused to be denied. He refused to accept the delay.  He refused to accept the denial. He pressed into the double portion because He was thirsty!  Joel said God would pour out His spirit upon ALL FLESH, including you and me, if we are thirsty!

May the LORD increase your thirst and help you become determined to press in and drink!   We will consider this more in tomorrow’s devotional. 

God bless you richly is my prayer and desire!