Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It rained last night and everything went from patchy and parched to green and beautiful after just a little nourishment from Heaven. As I sat in His Presence and contemplated this new day, He kept taking me back to what Nourishment from Heaven can do to a parched people too. We can do absolutely nothing to bring the rain when we need it, but we can approach the Living God for Nourishment from Heaven any time we feel parched. His Word says “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” and this morning I thought about what a deer is like when it feels parched. It doesn’t just think about it, talk about it, or whine about it, as people do. Instead, it sets out to find water to quench its thirst and doesn’t rest until it finds it. Oh, that our soul would pant for the Living God and not give up until we find our way into His presence for Nourishment each day too!

What is it about the heart of man that makes the Journey of Faith so hard? It’s not an easy thing to comprehend that people (even God’s people) would rather wander around in the desert dying of thirst than they would to seek His face in their time of need. They will compare their lives to the lives of others and wonder why God is “better” to someone else than He is to them. They’ll come up with excuse after excuse for why they’re parched in the first place, and none of them have anything to do with God. Despite their circumstances, they refuse to turn to Hope. They refuse to admit that they need Jesus. They refuse to accept that there is no good thing apart from Him. They thirst, but not for Him. There is a never-ending flow of Living Water for anyone who wants it BUT many would rather remain parched than admit they need Nourishment from God at all. When the SOUL thirsts for God it’s relentless and, just like our furry friends, it doesn’t stop until it finds the Source of Nourishment when feeling parched.

It’s not easy to comprehend why people don’t turn to God when they’re feeling parched BUT it’s a piece of cake to understand what’s behind it. The same liar from the Garden of Eden who successfully convinced Adam and Eve that they would have everything they need WITHOUT God is the same liar working on Hearts today! He whispers, and as long as you listen you’ll remain parched in the desert. He convinces you to worry about what people think. He convinces you that you can handle things on your own. He’ll even convince you that God doesn’t love you! He can pull the trigger on fear and have you hiding under the bed. He convinces you that surrendering to God is weakness in order to keep you from finding your Strength. He’ll keep you wandering around parched all the days of your life UNLESS your soul begins to pant for Living Water. Seek His Face and watch the miracles flow through your life! God looks for humility; the kind of humility that easily confesses a thirst for Himself. That’s the Key to Spiritual Growth!

We have mastered an intellectualized Faith and we’ve whitewashed the Truth long enough so allow me to simplify it the Big Picture. There is Good and there is evil and nothing in between. You’re either FOR God or you’re against Him. You’re either a friend of God or you’re an enemy. You either thirst for Him OR you’ll fall subject to your adversary. There is a real Heaven and a real Hell and no middle ground whatsoever. Christ died for all but not all find their way to Heaven. There is a Day coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. If I were you, I’d start seeking His Face so your Soul begins to thirst for Him before it’s too late. The only thing standing between you being eternally parched and having Eternal Noursishment is Humility.

Be like the deer.