Who is God? – Day 15

Hear the generous cry from the heart of God to all who are hungry and thirsty, to come to Him to buy, without charge, whatever they need. What an amazing cry from a heart overflowing with generosity! God’s heart is for His people and He wants to supply their needs with quality of such excellence that money would not even be good enough for it!

The words of Psalm 23:1 echo this sentiment: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” God’s people know that when He is their Shepherd, He provides them with everything they need: beautiful surroundings and gently flowing streams for refreshing their souls; guidance in right living; His Presence with them during dark and frightening times; deliverance from enemies; being honoured by Him and feasting at the banquet prepared by Him; and everlasting joy in His Presence.

God is concerned with their spiritual wellbeing and implores them to look with attentiveness at what they are spending themselves on – unsatisfying, false possessions which do not last, perhaps like the futile pursuits of our generation constantly in search of the latest diets, with good quality ingredients, but which seldom deliver the promises.

For the exiled Israelites at that stage in history, spiritual thirst and spiritual hunger would have been more of a need than physical hunger and thirst. They had been separated from their land and their place of worship, which had deprived them of what was familiar to them spiritually, and had hindered their growth. God, in love, issues them with this rich invitation.

Where are we today? Are we, too, exiled from our place of worship, that precious place where we can give ourselves to God heart and soul? Are we becoming more and more spiritually thirsty as our souls long for His rich fare in our lives? Have we become so caught up with things that are draining us in our daily lives that, although we eat well and drink well, we chase after all those things that will never actually satisfy? Have we forgotten what is truly good, which could take away that thirst in our souls forever?