My property borders BLM land. This affords me a place to walk every morning. My dogs seem to get in three to four miles as they inspect the surrounding terrain and sniff every bush in sight. Every once in a while they scare up a Jack Rabbit and the chase is on and don't forget the low flying birds who give the dogs a daily dose of their morning exercise. When we get home, the dogs - panting hard - make a mad rush for the water dish. This makes me think of the scripture in Psalms 42:1-2: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?"
I wonder if any of you have sung this song in church or at home for worship. It is one thing to chant the words of this scripture and quite another to really have this experience. In this psalm, David is making the comparison of a hart that desires or longs after the water brook to his desire to seek after God. David goes on to say that his soul is thirsty for God just as much as my dogs desire the water dish.
This same idea is expressed again in Psalms 84:2 "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." While the main emphasis is on spending time with God in prayer, we are also talking about spending quality time with God in study and meditation.
"O that we might have a consuming desire to know God by an experimental knowledge, to come into the audience chamber of the Most High, reaching up the hand of faith, and casting our helpless souls upon the One mighty to save. His loving kindness is better than life. He desires to bestow on the children of men the riches of an eternal inheritance. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom." Sons and Daughters of God, Chapter 1, page 24; 1991.
Let's say I have a sign out front of my property which says "Corn for sale - You pick." Then when you stop and ask about the corn, I tell you I have two fields. One field has some corn worms and the other field is 100% pure corn. In order to get your money's worth you would naturally want to pick in the field with the best corn. While this illustration seems simple enough, how often do we trade our time with God for a little more sleep in bed or some important project?
Have you ever heard the expression that "We destroy the best by the good"? It is a good thing to get some more sleep in the morning and there are plenty of good books to read and good places to go. But what happens to the best things in life? Are we picking corn that is infected with worms?
Jesus talked about being thirsty in the Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6.
Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are said to be "blessed." This word carries the idea of being happy and well off and being in favor with God. If a person is not hungering and thirsting after God, they should ask, "Why?" as something has gone wrong in their experience with Christ. This is not the time to deceive ourselves into thinking that our experience is a good one when it really is not. If we are not drawing from the well of salvation and gaining new strength and power every day then we have fallen away and need to be restored to fellowship with God. Jesus is longing for us and waiting to bless us. Our Savior desires to speak to us through His word and refresh us with His Spirit.
"Those who make room in their hearts for Jesus will realize His love. All who long to bear the likeness of the character of God shall be satisfied. The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto him. If the eye is kept fixed on Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. The pure element of love will expand the soul, giving it a capacity for higher attainments, for increased knowledge of heavenly things, so that it will not rest short of the fullness. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." Desire of Ages, page 302.
When we spend time with God we will have fresh supplies of His grace to carry us through the day. Unconsciously we will have an influence with those we meet because we have made room in our hearts for Jesus. If we do not have a fresh supply of grace and are living on an old experience, our influence on others will die. We will be handing out old leftovers from days past. How can we love our neighbor as ourselves if we neglect prayer and fresh views of our Lord and Savior? If we want to give glory to God and carry out the first angel's message then we need to realize our desperate need to be at the feet of Jesus.
If you are not hungry and thirsting after God then pray to become hungry and thirsty. Though you might not feel like taking time for God, do it anyway. We cannot let our feelings dictate our faith. Living by faith is doing what is right no matter what our feelings say.
This is not about simply putting in time with God. When we realize our weakness, we learn to depend upon a power beyond our own resources. If you no longer realize your weakness and your need then something has gone wrong in your experience. I am sure we have all sung "I Need Thee Every Hour." Here is the refrain.
"I need Thee, oh I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee."
Is this truly our experience? |
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