September 19 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 63:1–5

Devotional

What Augustine said many centuries ago still rings true: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.” That expression is fully understandable if we consider it from the viewpoint of creation. The human heart is created for God and can not rest outside of the Source of life.

He, who in reality only comes to himself, ends up in the unrest of his own heart. He cannot be satisfied with the most gifted talents, as long as he has no rest in the One who grants these talents. When God’s Spirit works, He draws towards God. Then he realizes what it is to be separated from the Source of life. And that separation causes pain. The cause of this pain is his sin. His soul then thirsts for God; he seeks relief from his misery.

What a blessing when a man recognizes that he can not be satisfied with that which is outside of God! It is the evidence that God has begun a work of grace in his heart. Yes, truly, the yearning of the soul is for God’s refreshing presence. A thirsty man begins to realize that he would not want to exchange his relationship with God for all the joys of the world. He would rather perish of thirst in this wilderness than continue to drink from the cup of sin. Give this thirsty one all that the world offers, give him heaven even, and still he will not be satisfied, because he has not asked for heaven, but for God.

The child of God never outgrows his thirst for God. The more he drinks from the Fountain of life, the more he longs for it. His thirst after God is, in a certain sense, unquenchable. It continually creates a desire for more. This is a thirst after the fulfillment that will take place above. This thirst is not because it can be so bad on earth, but precisely because the foretaste of this fulfillment can be so good.

Yet, there is no thirst that can be as fully and richly quenched as this one. Even if it takes place in the middle of the wilderness of this life, there is still no greater joy than this fulfillment. God’s child has enough in Him, even though he may be sitting with Job on the shreds of a broken life. In spite of the fact that there is sweetness in this thirst, he cannot live off his thirst. If the Source of life is not opened to him, he will have to perish. For outside of God there is no life.

But the thirst will be satisfied. This satisfaction comes from God, because the thirst also came from God. And never has anyone perished with this thirst. Even on the last page of Scripture God invites: “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). Do you know this thirst of the soul? Do you know this satisfaction? Both thirst and satisfaction flow forth from Him who once cried out, “I thirst.” And in Him there is an eternal satisfaction.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.