As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  Psalm 42:1-2

It’s no secret that being a pastor is not the most physically demanding job in the world. Not that public speaking, counseling, teaching, studying and other pastoral duties aren’t rigorous in their own way, but it doesn’t exactly give you six-pack abs… or big biceps for that matter. When you sit in an air-conditioned office most of the day, with a cup of coffee or cold drink nearby and a break room with a refrigerator, you rarely connect with physical need. I suspect many in our church find themselves in a similar type job.

When I have the opportunity, I do like to engage in physical work- whether a home project, yard work, helping someone move or a church work day. There is something very satisfying about laboring in a tangible way- to use your hands to build something or to remake something old into something beautiful.

A couple of weeks ago, I took an entire Saturday to do yard work- from 9AM to 8 at night. I removed brush and reshaped flower beds, laid down wheelbarrow loads of mulch and edged sidewalks. I took two loads of debris to the dump and planted shrubs and flowers. I also mowed the lawn and washed the cars. It was a physical activity binge; a frenzy of home projects; knocking out a year of honey-do lists in 11 hours. And it was sunny and hovering in the mid to high eighties. By the end of the day (and even throughout the day), I was sunburned, exhausted and THIRSTY. I don’t get thirsty like that often, but after working and sweating for hours in the sun I was completely dehydrated. I had a burning tightness in my throat, sweat in my eyes and a parched, chalky feeling in my mouth.

When I came inside, finally; hot, dirty and oh-so thirsty, all I wanted was water, glass after glass of cool, refreshing, life-sustaining water. I gulped and gulped and gulped- it was SO good. Better than chips or chocolate, better than cheesecake (sorry, Pastor Bob), ice cream, steak and potatoes or any beverage you could name. Good ole fashioned H2O. Nothing like it. Have you ever experienced real thirst?

Relationship with God is like that. It’s connecting our thirst, our true heart’s desire with the only Source that can truly satisfy. Many people connect their thirst to things that only aggravate their need- like being thirsty and eating butter salted popcorn and then wondering why they are still so thirsty. Or being thirsty and eating yogurt or jello or something else. Why would anyone do that? There’s nothing particularly wrong with any of these foods (in moderation), but they just don’t quench thirst. In the same way, there’s nothing particularly wrong with material possessions, watching TV and movies, rooting for the Miami Heat, eating at a fancy restaurant or whatever else that catches your fancy. But it can’t substitute for true connection with God or satisfy the true thirst that God has wired into the human soul.

Are you thirsty? Go to the Source!