O God, You are my God: I shall seek You earnestly;  My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.   Psalm 63:1 NASB

My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.  Psalm 63:8 NASB

I can remember my little eight year old niece when she was just two years old and very independent. She wanted to do everything on her own. I can recall her going to our pantry for a snack. I knew it was too high for her to reach, but she insisted that she could do it on her own. I let her try, but soon after a few failed attempts, she cried out, “I need you!”

Well, there have been times when the Lord and I have had that same conversation. I think I’m a big girl and can do it all on my own, but then I realize just how much I need Him. In this Psalm David describes his need for the Lord as a powerful thirst in a land where there is no water. But the good thing for us is that our need for God can be satisfied because He is right there with open arms. We may thirst, but we are standing beside the still waters just as those mentioned in the 23rd Psalm, the living water is there to quench our thirst. We can choose to thirst no more.

The problem is that often times, we just don’t realize our need for the Lord. You see, we come to realize how much we need the Lord at some point in our lives either the hard way or the easy way. For many years of my life, I realized that need in the easy way. I grew up in church and was well aware of the powerful need that humans have for their creator. But I went through a time in my life when I forgot just how powerful that need is. I strayed from my relationship with the Lord to satisfy my own selfish desires. This is when I learned the hard way that I needed God. When this happened God showed me just how desperately I needed Him in my life.

We need the Lord. It’s just that simple. He made us to be in close fellowship with Him. Now while our sin creates barriers between us and God (Isaiah 59:2), Jesus came that we might be able to be forgiven of our sin (John 3:16). Through Jesus, we can have a close relationship with our Lord and Savior. We need salvation. We need forgiveness. We need the Lord.

Now there are people who roll along in life filled with pride thinking that they’ve got this. Well, the Bible tells us that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). That’s the hard way that I mentioned. You see God will never force us into a close relationship with Him, He leaves that decision entirely up to us. We have free will. But He may allow situations to occur in our lives that will show us just how much we need Him.

Hard times and desperate situations usually effect us in one of two ways, either we draw closer to God and realize how desperately we need Him or we get angry with Him and push Him farther away.

The best decision I ever made was to draw near to God and give it all over to Him. This included all my love and devotion as well as all my troubles. I focus on Him and He takes good care of me. I know I’m getting the best end of that deal.

We need the Lord, but we have a choice. We can struggle and fight and try to do it all on our own or we can turn it all over to Him and He will give us rest (Matthew 11:28).  If you are trying to live a life without the Lord, go right ahead. Don’t take the time to pray and study your Bible. Go ahead and be too “busy” to attend church services and let me know how all that works out for you. I can tell you how it will work out because I have been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. I’m done with a life of sin that separates me from God.

I have turned it all over to Him and now I live with peace that many don’t understand and an unending joy. I traded my chaos and turmoil for peace and joy. I know that I need the Lord. I know that my soul needs to cling to Him. I pray for you today that you realize the same before He has to show you. If not, then you will understand what I meant about the hard way. The choice is yours.

Have a great day!