today's devotional - May 29, 2013

Perspective of the seasons of the year largely depends on where you live. In colder climates, summer is welcomed and savored after a cold, hard winter. Not so much so in the desert Southwest where I live: summer is the antitype of winter. The scorching, dry heat is endured until cooler temperatures return. Amidst the triple-digit temperatures, the common comment is, "but it's a dry heat". As such, shade provides immediate relief not experienced in humid climates. The Psalmist must have been familiar with that dry heat in the Middle Eastern desert region where he lived, for he wrote:

"the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life" (Psalm 36.7-9)

Desert dry heat is a type of object lesson concerning spiritual thirst and need. One of the first lessons I learned was that I was thirstier than I knew. Accustomed to sweating in hot, humid climates, I soon discovered here that I was losing considerable moisture through rapid evaporation. The common advice here is, drink water constantly, because you need more water than you know. And in that there is a spiritual parallel: we are more thirsty spiritually than we know. As such, God's people do well to "drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life". 

Without an awareness of our spiritual need, we will not desperately thirst and long for a solution. I'm reminded of the Beatitudes of Jesus' Sermon On the Mount: all qualities of "blessedness" have something to do with brokenness and need. The one who has insight into his/her spiritual need is best positioned for refreshing and nourishing.

I'm thankful to know and serve the LORD God YHWH, who knows my true spiritual condition, and provides rather than accuses. His invitation to us is to come to Him, empty-handed and without pretense, and He will abundantly pardon and provide. He will provide refreshing from "the fountain of life", that will satisfy even the deepest thirst. His offer sounds much like His Son's offer to a woman at a well (John 4.14), but then that's another story ...

May we each fully face our need, and then turn to the only One who can fully satisfy - this day, and always.

©Steve Taylor, 2013