Earnest Thirst

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my sould thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1

Recently, I was blessed to be able to participate in a simulcast of David Pratt's Secret Church. An amazing, godly, on-fire, teacher of the Word, David's main message throughout his works is: All to God, all for God, all in God.

Being exposed to David's teachings in snippets at church previously, reading his book Radical, and having participated in the most recent Secret Church, I am asking myself a few questions.

Psalm 63:1 is a verse I've had copied on an index card for a long time and have recited and memorized. But, do I really live it? Have I ever earnestly sought God? Does my soul thirst for Him and my body long for Him? Have I ever been in a dry and weary land, where I could learn to depend on God completely?

I'm not sure. I've had some difficult times. I've had some times of sorrow and discomfort. I've had seasons of mild depression. And many will say that this verse refers to spiritual dryness. Which, I suppose can be true.

But as I hear David Platt talk about the persecuted church around the world (and read other biographies of persecuted Christians) I wonder. Do I really know what it means to completely rely on God for my very breath and sustenance? No, not really.

I don't want to lose everything to have to learn to live this verse. But, God, I'm now sure, wants me to be willing to give up everything for Him. He doesn't want to be the first thing in my life. He wants to be the only thing in my life.

One way to do that is to immerse myself in His Word, which is a journey I will start in earnest tomorrow. What have I missed in His Word? I'm sure I won't catch it all in the next 40 days (my current commitment to focusing on scripture), but I am sure that if I seek Him earnestly and thirst and long for Him, that I won't miss the most important thing in the Bible: God Himself.

Care to come along? Choose to commit a day, a week, a month, or 40 days to reading nothing (outside of work commitments) other than scripture. No matter where God wants to take you and me, I'm willing to go because I know if nothing else it will be closer to Him.