“As the deer longs for the water brooks, so my soul longs for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” – Psalm 42
What does your soul “long for” today?
What is it that you are seeking to satisfy the longing of our soul?
There is a hunger in each of our souls that must be filled.
There is a deep longing and desire there that only God can fill. Sadly though many seek to fill it with other things. It is this desire for other things that is the real enemy to our relationship with God and the killer of our faith. And the only weapon that will triumph over this enemy is a deeper hunger for God. The weakness of our hunger for God is not because He is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with other things.
What is at stake here is not just the good of our souls, but also the glory of God. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied and delighted in Him. The fight of faith is to feast on all that God is for us in Christ.
What we hunger for the most, we worship.
When God is the most supreme hunger of our hearts, He will be supreme in everything.
The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink every night. It is the swiping and selfies and following we fill ourselves with every day. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not His enemies but His blessings. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when we replace a hunger for God Himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.
Lord please help us to see the idols we have created in our hearts and lives. Help us to understand in what ways we have turned away from You in our lives. Give us a deep hunger and thirst in our hearts for you O Lord. May You and You alone be the supreme joy and delight in our lives and may we long to be in Your presence forevermore.
