My Thirsty Soul
(Chapter One)
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;
My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water
Psalm 63:1
The dictionary defines “thirst” as “strong or eager desire; craving (as in craving knowledge). This is the kind of thirst David speaks of in Psalm 63.
In the first few paragraphs of chapter one, Linda Dillow recounts the wedding celebration of her son and daughter-in-law. She details how they were oblivious to their guests as they drank in one another at the altar, uniting together as one. Linda then asks us a very pointed question: Don’t our hearts clamor for deep soul satisfaction, for a oneness that quenches our thirst for closeness and satisfies our empty places?
As women, I think that we all could say that we long for what Linda calls “face-to-face” intimacy. We seek it in relationships with the opposite sex in marriage and with other women. We quickly find though that amidst those relationships we often times still come up empty. What our souls are really searching for is that kind of intimacy with God, yet even in our relationship with Him intimacy is still elusive and instead of knowing God we settle for serving Him.
In Matthew 22:37-39 God’s word clearly states that our first and most important aim is to love Him and then secondly, to love others. Too often we reverse these commandments, don’t we? Linda suggests that “all of us need to be lovers who work, rather than workers who love.” When we mix these up the results are usually spiritual and physical exhaustion.
In your walk with God do you find yourself thirsty for more of Him? Do you long for a personal encounter with Him? Do you yearn for joy unspeakable? Do you desire for face-to-face intimacy with God? I do! Linda believes that we can never experience face-to-face intimacy with God until we put Him first and service second.
God desires intimacy with us. Scripture tells us this.
Jeremiah 31:3 (God loves us with an everlasting love. He loved us first)
2 Corinthians 11:2 (He calls Himself the Bridegroom and He calls us the bride and He is a jealous Bridegroom)
Isaiah 57:7 (God calls idolatry “adultery”).
The Lord desires that we be as close to Him spiritually as a husband and wife are physically. He chose the closest, most intimate act on earth to portray the holy beauty of spiritual intimacy with Him. And this face-to-face intimacy with Him is a choice.
Linda gave a great illustration in this chapter defining the four levels of intimacy. I’ve put them here on the board for us to see as Linda described the levels of intimacy the Israelites had with God.
The priests and elders represent the second circle of intimacy. They must have felt the presence of God and they experienced more than the outer circle folks, but even seeing God didn’t really change their lives. Not long after they experienced God, they were back to worshipping the golden calf.
Moses and Joshua represent the third circle, closer still to God. Joshua often lingered in God’s presence and he longed to be where God manifested Himself.
Moses alone represents the inner circle: that face-to-face intimacy. Moses was a friend of God. They communed together alone on Mt. Sinai.
These same levels of intimacy can be found in the New Testament between Jesus and His disciples. The outer circle represents the 70 men Jesus chose and sent out two-by-two. His 12 disciples were his inner group (second circle) Peter, James and John represent the 3rd circle as they shared greater intimacy with Jesus. And one disciple (John), refered to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (inner circle).
Linda challenged us in this chapter when she stated, “Intimacy is a choice. We either do the work required to keep the fire alive, or we don’t”. This statement is true in marriage and it’s true in our relationship with God.
In order to make this important choice we, like David, need to passionately pursue “one thing”. Psalm 27:4
Author Sam Storms observes in his book “Pleasures Evermore” that “is not only beholding the beauty of the Lord indescribably enjoyable, it is profoundly transforming.”.
Linda concurs with his statement and writes, “As we behold Christ, we are changed. Transformed. As we meditate on the beauty and character of Christ, some of His goodness rubs off on us.”.
Have you ever found that to be true in your human relationships: That the more closely you know someone, the more you become like them? What about in your relationship with God: As you meditate on Him and His word, do you see His goodness rubbing off on you?
As Mary of Bethany sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha bustled around in the kitchen growing more agitated, Jesus reminded Martha that only one thing was necessary: choosing face-to-face intimacy with Him.
So the question is … How do we become like Moses, John, David and Mary? What is the path to face-to-face intimacy with Jesus?
Linda shared that her path came through God’s Word and the example of her friend. She stated that “Those who know the Lord intimately, often make us painfully hungry for a deeper experience of Christ.” Have you ever felt that way? I know I have every time I watch Beth Moore speak! I wanna love Jesus like Beth!
Psalm 89:15 tells us that through the act of worship, God can become a reality to us.
I read earlier, from Psalm 63:1 that worship can satisfy our thirsty souls.
Psalm 16:11 tells us that soul satisfaction comes from knowing God’s presence.
Linda concluded from these Scriptures and the testimony of others that “Worship is the path to experiencing the presence of God, the way to face-to-face intimacy”.
So, what is worship? Linda believes it’s a “multifaceted diamond”. She believes it isn’t a specific act, but also a lifestyle. It is the act of bowing our knees and declaring “holy, holy, holy” and bowing our lives and living “holy, holy, holy”. Plainly stated, she says, “Worship begins in holy expectancy and ends in holy obedience”. It is the lifestyle of a grateful heart.
The benefits of bowing our knees and lives: our service flows from a different place ~ from a heart saturated with worship. Our prayers flow more naturally out of our worship as well. And our obedience is elevated through a heart of worship.
So again, Linda asks, “Are you thirsty?” As we become worshippers, our lives will change, we’ll know God’s presence anew and we’ll experience face-to-face intimacy with our Heavenly Father.
Psalm 95:6 encourages us to “Come let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord Our Maker for He is our God.”
In Chapter 2 we’re going to experience a worship awakening! I can hardly wait.
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