In each of our souls, there is a restless longing, or “hole,” that was put there (on purpose) by God and that can only be filled by him. Those of us who have chosen to put our faith in Jesus realize, in that moment, that he was what we were longing for all along! But even after salvation, we can encounter feelings of emptiness and restless longing. Imagine this: you have finished dinner and cleaned the dishes and you now feel a little restless, a little unsatisfied, or unsettled…you just need a little something to ease the empty feeling. So, maybe you turn on the TV, or read the news, or get dessert, go cybershopping, or scroll instagram. None of these are wrong in and of themselves! Or, perhaps, you choose to run to sinful things to escape the emptiness, like pornography or excessive use of alcohol. But what if this longing you feel is actually the Lord inviting you to come find your rest in him? What if it is God triggering your heart’s longing so that he can satisfy and renew you in his presence? Often we misdiagnose our “hungers” and try to feed them with other solutions that only leave us feeling worse. These other solutions actually dull the true spiritual hunger for more of God in our souls.

In Psalm 63, David correctly diagnosed the thirst in his soul as a thirst for God and he leaned into that longing to have his thirst sated by the Lord. Most commentators believe that David wrote this Psalm in his wilderness years while running away from Saul who wanted him dead. In that season, David literally lived in a dry and thirsty land, a place of emptiness. However, he didn’t lament the material losses of his former life, like his family, or the life of pleasure and ease in the courts of the king that he had enjoyed. Rather, he recalls with longing the times of worship that he spent in the temple where he witnessed the power and glory of God. He meditates on the love and faithfulness of God, even in this hard place. He praises God, as he considers how the Lord’s hand has faithfully upheld him.   

When we are in dry and empty places, let us recognize that God has brought us there so that we will reach for him to fill us, as opposed to someone or something else. God is always looking to increase our spiritual desire for more! He doesn’t want us to stop at just surviving, but to move on toward thriving! Meditating on what God has already done for you (a moment, perhaps, in which he showed himself to you in power and glory, or was faithful through some hard times) and praising him for those things (like David did) is a great way to jump back into the river of life! Picking up that study you signed up for, doing that devotion that you missed, reading the word; all of these can saturate dry ground with the water of his presence. We have almost endless options when it comes to encountering the Lord: Christian radio and Spotify playlists, concerts, books (there were 2 good ones recommended in yesterday’s Personal Worship), a million podcasts (Out of Water! Please listen to that!), PureFlix, etc. And we can also just walk outside in silence, focusing on Jesus and listening for his voice! These are all ways of getting in the river! And what about just hanging out with someone whose passion and love for the Lord you admire? Are the things you are doing in your spare moments filling you up or emptying you further?