to help rehydrate you. We have all heard stories of people adrift at sea who were thirsty and drank the saltwater only to die quicker as the saltwater actually drew the water out of their cells instead of putting it in. We all thirst for God, but sometimes we try to fill that need through other things. Our lives are so full. Many of those things in our lives can be ful- filling, and it is easy to think that these things will fill the thirst we have. So, I want to enumerate some of those things that will not satisfy that thirst. Your job will not satisfy your thirst. If you find fulfillment in your job, I am not suggesting that you give up your job and find an unsatis- fying one. I know I find fulfillment in my job. I get to go to church ev- ery day and get paid for it! I get to help people and teach people about God. If you find fulfillment in your job, that is probably a sign that you have found your calling. But we should not expect that to satisfy our deepest needs. As satisfying as a calling or a career can be, we are not what we do for a living. Too many have lived for the job, and when the job ended, what did they have, a few plaques for being the best em- ployee and a pension? A job may be meaningful, but it cannot provide deep meaning. It is not that water that you thirst for. Hobbies will not satisfy your thirst. Hobbies and activities can be good. They can be creative outlets and can be productive. Activities can be meaningful and satisfying. People often try to satisfy their longings with hobbies and activities. But all the hunting trophies or homemade furniture in the world cannot fill the void. Even a National Champion- ship cannot satisfy that ultimate thirst. Only God can do that. Family cannot satisfy your thirst. Family is a good thing. It can and should be a satisfying thing especially being a father. The love of family can and should be a source of satisfaction and meaning. But it will not fill your


longing for God. The relation- ships within a family are vehicles for expressing and experiencing God’s love. But the family is not the source. God is the source of the living water that can satisfy your thirst.


As the deer pants for streams of water,


so my soul pants for you, my God.


My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.


When can I go and meet with God?


 January/February 2022 27


The church cannot satisfy your thirst. “Wait a minute. Did the preacher just say that church cannot satisfy your thirst?” Yes, I said that. The church can be the place where your relationship with God is nurtured and grown. So, coming to church can be a vehicle of receiving the spiritual water for which we thirst. But the church itself can also make us thirsty. There are a lot of thirsty people in the church. Some are even dying of thirst. God is what satisfies that thirst. Only God can satisfy your deepest long- ings. Only God can quench your spiritual thirst. Only God gives your life ultimate meaning. Other things may be meaningful, but they will not bring ultimate ful- fillment. But God can fulfill you. Jesus is your connection to God. He came into this world and died for your sins. He did that so that you could know God. Trust in him so that you can receive that living water that will satisfy your thirst. Do not try to fill your life with work or hobbies or family, or even church. Do not let your soul be downcast within you. Put our trust in Christ. Place your hope on God. And let God quench your thirst.


Originally printed in the Cen- tennial ARP Church newslet- ter, 2012. Rev. David Setzer is a retired ARP minister in Catawba Presbytery.


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