September 9

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring. — Isa 44:3 BSB

Spiritual thirst in the soul is surely a sign of divine life. Just as it is impossible for a corpse in the graveyard to thirst for water, so it is impossible for someone dead in sin to thirst for a living God. Speaking from personal experience, I know that such a thirst for God had no place in my heart until the Lord gave life to my soul. I had heard of God, I had seen his handiwork in creation, in the stars, the sea, and the earth. I had read of him in the Bible, learned of his existence through tradition, and had some understanding of his holiness in my conscience. But as for spiritual thirst for him, or a desire to fear him, know him, believe in him, or love him—that was completely absent from me. I loved the world too much to care for the one who created it, and I cherished my own self far too much to seek the one who would call me to crucify and mortify it.

I am convinced that a person must be made alive to God through spiritual regeneration before they can experience this thirst. Only then can they understand what the Psalmist meant when he said, "As the deer pants for the water-brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:1-2). And wherever God has stirred this spiritual thirst in a soul, he will surely satisfy that longing: “The desire of the righteous will be granted” (Prov. 10:24). His invitation is clear: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” (Isaiah 55:1). Jesus himself promises, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37), and he began his ministry with this blessing: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”