Have you ever craved a certain food? Maybe some chocolate? I have craved chocolate so bad that I have cut into a chocolate cake before it even got iced, with only one thought as I was cutting into the warm chocolate sweetness of that cake, and that was simply to devour it as soon as possible!
I've seen people and animals alike crave after food or drink just like that.
I've seen deer as they craved water so bad that they would look at my barking dog as though she was an idiot dog and pass her by just to get a drink from our pond because they were so thirsty for water.
Those same deer come to our pond daily to quench that thirst. No one has to lead them there, because they have drank from its water before, and their thirst is what always leads them back.
Like my craving for chocolate, they crave the cool refreshing water that the pond provides them. They know that my barking dog is no match for their thirst and nothing will keep them from returning time after time to be refreshed.
Some days my craving for the Lord is equally as great as that craving for chocolate. As I see the deer return to the pond to quench their thirst, I am reminded of Psalm 42:1-2, it say's, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"
The meer fact that I thirst or crave for the Lord is a sign that I belong to Him and that no other person, nor other thing on earth can quench the thirst that I have.
I know this to be true, because He has quenched my thirst in past times. As a matter of fact, I have never left His presence thirsty. I have tasted and I know it is good and so I shall always return to His well, that never runs dry, to quench me when I am spiritually dry and weary for a fresh drink.
A. W. Tozer describes that panting, taste or craving, as a "piercing sweetness". He said that he had tasted God's goodness, and it both satisfied him and caused him to be thirsty for more. "I am painfully conscious of my need" he said, "I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made thirsty still." Now friend, that is some good stuff!
Jonathan Edwards described panting as a longing to be satisfied, while Charles Spurgeon saw this craving as a sign of growth saying, that "the un-renewed man pants after anything other than God"
It proves a renewed nature when you long after God. "It is a work of grace in your soul, and you may be thankful for it."
Paul craved after the Lord as well. You can tell by Philippians 3:8, where he says, "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord".
Think about that, he considered everything a loss compared to his knowing the Lord!
How bout you? Do you thirst or hunger after God in this way? Is the thirst or hunger there because you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good and know that He alone can satisfy it? If you are thirsty today, let it draw you to Him! Hold Fast, -Bren
