Fighting for Nourishment

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm 42:1-2


Observation:
The psalmist expresses in these lines a deep desire to seek God with desperation as if his life would depend on it. He compares his search with a thirsty dear that longs for healthy water brooks for nourishment and survival. But it is implied here that the search keeps going and time is running out. The hunger for God intensifies and the search continues unsatisfactory. The strength is failing and signs of life are decreasing. Anxiousness rises above the hope and the search turns even more desperate. In the midst of such anguish, the psalmist doesn’t give up his fragile hope. He still puts his trust in God even when the worse is inevitable. A true seeker of God’s presence doesn’t give up until his thirst is satisfied. He takes the last breath of energy left and fights for nourishment. He is not willing to go down without seeing God expressing His lovingkindness, in whatever shape or form God’s decides to manifest it.


Application:
I cannot deny how troubled my heart is with the Teri Schiavo case. The courts of the land have ordered by the petition of her husband to have this woman starved to death by removing her feeding tube. Today she is fighting to live after 13 days without nourishment. Her parents and relatives are fighting all kinds of legal battles in order to keep her alive. This incident is not only very sad but also very illustrative to reveal spiritual truths about of own relationship with God.
There are so many enemies in our life that want to cut off the nourishment that the Spirit of God provides to our soul. Sometimes we get distracted with the things of this world and pay no attention to the condition of our spiritual feeding tube. Sometimes we allow others to trample all over our lives to the point of being unable to receive from God and we do nothing to push them away. But worse than anything is when we have a lifestyle that purposely disconnects from God’s nourishment. But this passage is about those things in life that distract us from keeping a meaningful and nourishing relationship with God.
When everything was gone, the attitude of the psalmist was everything for him. He couldn’t change the circumstances but he had control over his emotions. He was able to keep the hope alive because of his desire to be nourished by God, even in the midst of the worse case scenario. He searched and searched like a moribund seeks for the last drops of life available in his being. He fought for that nourishment with desperation and diligence expecting God to smile again over him.
Do I have the same passion for God? Do I seek and seek until I find? Am I willing to pay a high price and do whatever it takes in order to keep my nourishment from God? Lately I’ have become more aware of my dependency from God. The Lord has been using my life and doing great things all around me. But there is a inner alarm system that calls me to seek for more of Him. The more that He gives me, the more my heart wants from the Lord. The more intimacy I get, the more intimacy I want. I’m increasing in my thirst for the things of God and I’m seeking like a deer longs for the water brooks. I know that the good Lord will satisfy my thirst soon.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please forgive me the many times when I’m careless about my nourishment. Forgive my constant habits of distraction and allow me to be more consistent in my passion for you. Please do not remove your presence from my life. You are all I want, You are all I need. Help me to find the water of your love in the current desert and grant me more of your presence during this season. I want to know you more and more. I love you Jesus. AMEN!