“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.” A thirst develops from a lack of moisture just like soil when it is dry, or a land that is parched, or like an arid region, or like an empty desert or the earth when it is void of rain. It becomes dry, faint. It creates an unpleasant experience, an unbearable living condition. It becomes a wasteland, a howling desert. Like a runner or a child at play wishing to keep going, our souls develop a deep thirst and need to be replenished. Our souls hunger for spiritual food, they thirst for spiritual drink. They need to be fed, they need to be refreshed. If a soul is deprived from the one thing that can bring it refreshment, that can bring it relief, that can replenish it – it becomes starved, dry, and unable to continue. Our souls simply long for God, they need to be with God, to live with him, to share with him, to receive the nourishment and sustenance they need to keep going. Only God can feed our souls, only God can provide our souls with spiritual refreshment. Without God, a soul becomes dry like the desert, hard like a boulder, brittle like bones, bitter like unguarded speech. It lacks the moisture of God, the wellspring of life, the spiritual dewfall from heaven necessary to quench our weary spirits and to water and refresh arid souls. Ever wonder what water is thirsting for? What would quench water’s thirst? Every living thing needs water to exist. Water helps sustain life. It helps keep us alive. Water brings refreshment to our tired, worn out bodies. It quenches our thirst, it cleanses us, it brings us relief. But, what is water thirsty for? What will quench water’s desire or fulfill its need? Only God can do that. Water desires a blessing from God like the Jordan when Jesus was baptized. Like the water at our own baptism that brought us newness of life. Water cooperates with God, participates in his plan, fulfills his will. In the waters of baptism, God cleanses our hearts and purifies our souls. God places a deep longing in our soul for goodness, for holiness, for peaceful things, for God. St. Augustine says that, “God thirsts that we might thirst for him.” Our souls need God. They need love. They need Jesus, who is the fountain of life and the wellspring of salvation. To the thirsty soul, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
