Read these few verses when you have a minute.
What do YOU hunger and thirst for? King David, who wrote these psalms, was in a desert place in his life. Like we are at times, too. He went in search of the living water, the living God. He wanted the Lord more than anything else. God's presence was food and water to him.
Have you ever been that thirsty for God? You know the feeling. That empty longing. That deep hunger in your heart for something more-the need to be fulfilled. And you keep looking and searching and longing and you never quite get there.
I know I tried to fill this vacuum with things I thought would work. Music, parties, dancing, Elvis, TV. Shopping, and buying things when I can. Filling the spaces in my house and closets with "things", just "stuff". I would strive for success, and try to please everyone and expect people to please me. I sought satisfaction in all my relationships, and I would drain people dry with all my needs (especially my wonderful husband, and parents, and trying to impress people who I thought were my friends). But none of these things ever really fill that empty place. That's because the empty place was designed by God to be filled with Him only! And we all have that place of longing within us! This great hunger in our hearts and our souls can only be satisfied with the presence of God!
The music, the parties, the TV programs, the shopping, the "stuff", etc., all comes to an end and the emptiness and loneliness are still there. Relationships didn't always turn out the way I thought they would, and there I was - still longing for whatever it was I thought I would gain from it! I still felt empty and lonely!
Eventually everything comes down to just me. Alone. And there is nothing I can grasp on to that is lasting -- except the presence of God. Jesus is the way to the Father. I found that wonderful presence of God in my life when I finally let my guard down and let Jesus into my heart. What a wonderful day that was! It was the beginning of my journey into the heart of God - into His very presence! That was in 1974. Every day it is a new adventure. Some days there is such a desert, such longing and thirst and hunger for God. God wants us to come after Him, to seek Him.
David looked for God. He went after Him. He searched Him out until He found Him. And then he laid his feelings and longings at His feet. Psalm 38:9. David found God because he sought Him - He searched for Him.
The way I draw near to God and seek out His presence is to worship and praise Him. I usually set aside some time every morning to be with HIM. I will often listen to teachings, some praise and worship music, read my scriptures, and just ASK HIM to soak me in His love, His presence, and I just feel Him near. I know He wants to be with me, and I want to be with HIM. The loneliness, the emptiness just are gone, and so is an hour or two of my day, when our time together is over. And then the rest of my day is filled with His presence as I go about my day.
I have not been faithful to my time with God in the mornings for a month or two, but now I'm there again. I felt the emptiness, the anxieties, the world pulling me in, the loneliness, when I wasn't keeping my time of seeking God.
Somewhere in the bible, and I can't remember where, God says "I dwell in the praises of my people", and He does. Praise and worship, song and scripture opens the gates to a more fulfilling life.
Read 1 Chronicles 28:9 in your bible. Have you been able to lay your heart bare before the Lord? Have you been able to reveal all of how you feel to Him? If not, tell Him now. If you have, tell Him again. And then write out a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for His presence in your life. Tell Him all the ways you worship and glorify Him.
