Thirsting for God:

Recently I was given a coloring book that includes verses, and this is how I was reminded of the beautiful verse of Psalm 42:2 that says, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”  This verse is beautiful, and it also serves as a big reminder as to how we should live our life.  This reminds me to ponder the reasons that I am a Christian.  Is it because I was told that it was the right path by my family, and I don’t want to upset them?  Is it because I feel as though I will only be a good person if I am a Christian? Or have I decided to become a Christian because I love God that much?  That should be the main reason that I am a Christian, not for any of the false reasons that I listed before.  This is something that I need to spend more time pondering and reflecting on.   

This verse reminded me of one of my all time favorite books, “Desiring God,” that also happens to be by one of my favorite authors of John Piper. I really truly believe that this book changed me and especially how I viewed Christianity.  Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved going to church.  I would often be the one making sure my mom and I went as opposed to the other way around. When I went to college, I knew that I wanted to be a part of a college ministry. However, there were times that I feel I really only wanted to be a part of this Christian ministry because it is the only thing that I have ever known and done.  Then I read this book, and I was reminded that God is my first love.  Being a Christian is more than just following rules and going to church.  It is more about serving and honoring a God that loves me unconditionally. The quote that really stuck with me is, “God is most glorified when you are most satisfied in him.”  God doesn’t just want us to read the Bible because we have to but because we want to.  This would be like if we are giving someone a present for their birthday and then telling them that we only got it for them because we felt we had to as opposed to finding something we knew they would enjoy and thinking of them enough to buy it for their birthday.  

What are some ways that a person should know that they are thirsting for the Lord?  One way to show this thirsting for the Lord is through praise.  Worship music is a great chance to let the lyrics and music allow you to honor the glory and the majesty of the Lord.  I will be honest that I am not the best at always listening to worship music.  There are many times that I would rather listen to pop and rap music.  However, I have found that through this time of sorrow of everything that has happened in 2020, I need that worship music to remember the good and consistency of God, even when the world is not.  There is another psalm that really captures the essence and the importance of worship songs and that is Psalm 100:2, “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”  This idea of praise can also, of course, be shown through our time of prayer.  It can be very easy to pray for the things that we want, but it is incredibly important that we spend time in prayer praising God for all the great work that he has done in the world and in our lives.  

Another thing that shows the thirst for God is our love for God’s word. Yes, we can read God’s word without pure love.  I have definitely done this.  I have, at times, read God’s word out of duty as opposed to the pure love of it.  Reading the Bible is something that I try to dedicate to everyday but at the same time it is important to remember that you are reading the word of God, and that is completely special.  Something I have found is that for me personally I actually do like to do my Bible study in the morning before I go to school.   I think the reason for this is that in the morning I am so much more ready to learn and take in information. When I get back home from teaching, I am not very motivated to learn or to read.  I am more interested in watching T.V and listening to music.  Therefore setting aside that time in the morning has helped me remember to love God and his word! I am reading the word of God. 

The beautiful thing about this concept is that there aren’t really any rules.  The rules, the regulations, and the tasks that many Christians do such as reading the Bible, going to church, worship songs, and prayer is incredibly important, my whole concept is that there is a thirsting for God that can be different for each person. We are going to make mistakes.  We are going to have ups and downs.  However, it will be so much better to grow from the grace and the pure love of God if we really, really, really desire to know and love God.