“O God, I have tasted Your goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray, so I may know You indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow You up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”  A. W. Tozer

 “I drank at every vine  The last was like the first.
I came upon no wine   So wonderful as thirst.
I gnawed at every root.   I ate of every plant.
I came upon no fruit   So wonderful as want.
Feed the grape and bean To the vintner and monger;
I will lay down lean With my thirst and my hunger.”
Edna St. Vincent Millay

“O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.”
Psalm 63:1-3

Moving From the Head to the Heart

• Whose words resonate most with you, those of Tozer, Millay, or King David? Why is that?
• We all like having our longings satisfied. Can you think of a thirst that isn’t immediately satisfied (or satisfied in this life) as a good thing?
• Only Gods’ grace both satisfies our thirst for Him and creates in us a deeper thirst for him. He must do this for us, and does it in his love. Can you ask God now to do a “new work” in you? upsetting your status quo? replacing what may be a sense of satisfaction with unease and deep thirst instead?

Abba, I too am painfully conscious, not only of past time spent wandering (but not wasted) in the lowlands, but also of present time characterized by lack of truly deep thirst for you. Perhaps I’m even frightened, not knowing what to expect. Help me to trust your love and welcome the work of your grace in my soul.