Are you hungry?

As the deer pants for streams of water,
   so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:1-2

A deer has been out in the desert, searching for food. He is thirsty, so thirsty he is panting. His every thought is focused on getting what he needs, life sustaining water. He searches for it, knowing his survival depends on it. This same deer, eating of the green grass by streams of clean and clear water, is content, filled and nourished.

The Psalmist says that he is like this deer. He is dry, parched, and his thirsts for God to his very core. He knows that he needs God. His soul is thirsty, and his focus is expressed in the question, “When can I go and meet with God?”

Earlier the Psalmist had said,

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing. Psalm 34:7-9

God is food for his soul. He knows that just as we need to eat on a regular basis, so we need to take in God, to learn about him, to meditate on him, to commune with him. We need to talk to him, to take him in so that he becomes a part of who we are and how we grow and mature. We need to know him so well that we understand his nature, how he works and who he is. That is the only way to hear his voice, and to understand what he wants from a relationship with us.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Eating and drinking are fundamental to being human. We cannot live without taking in nourishment. We also take in food for pleasure, delighting in what God created for our nurture, and in our ability to be creative with how we partake of nourishment. The same can be said about spiritual food. Our spirit will be malnourished without our partaking in God and his nature, in his Word, and in becoming more like him. We can be creative in how we do that, finding ways to drink deeply of him that fit our personalities, our learning styles, and that give us pleasure.

Are you starving your spiritual body? When was the last time you tasted of the Lord? Are you feeling weak and parched? God is here, desiring to feed you. Partake! Taste and see…