July 6, 2026 – Thirst

JA – “I AM BEFORE ALL THINGS, and in Me all things hold together.… Do not be satisfied with only thinking about Me or knowing Me intellectually. Thirst for experiential knowledge of Me, grounded in sound biblical truth. Seek to know My Love that far surpasses mere knowledge. You will need the help of My Spirit to accomplish this…. Invite Him to empower and guide you in this amorous adventure. But remember that I am the goal of your searching – make Me central in your quest. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart! See Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 42:1-2, Ephesians 3:16-19, and Jeremiah 29:13.

Power – Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Joyce encourages, “Take comfort in knowing that God knew all about you even before you were born, and He still chose to be in relationship with you. How you think God views you and how you feel about yourself on the inside determines the quality of life you will have…. If you can relax about yourself, then you can usually relax about life in general.”

Streams – 2 Chronicles 20:12 – “We do not know what to do but our eyes are upon you.” In addition to thirsting for God, we often tend to thirst to be in control and to understand beyond what is ours to control and understand. Cowman uses the story of the Israelite, Uzzah, as an example. He “lost his life because he ‘reached out and took hold of the ark of God’ (2 Sam. 6:6) He placed his hands on it with the best of intentions – to steady it, ‘because the oxen stumbled’ (2 Sam. 6:6) – but nevertheless, he had overstepped his bounds by touching the Lord’s work…. Living a life of faith often requires us to leave things alone. If we have completely entrusted something to God, we must keep our hands off of it. He can guard it better than we can, and He does not need our help.” These kinds of situations allow us “experiential knowledge” of God.

Cowman concludes with these thoughts from A. B. Simpson, ” Things in our lives may seem to be going all wrong, but God knows our circumstances better than we do. And He will work at the perfect moment, if we will completely trust Him to work in His own way and in His own time.” I agree and I try to live like this when I am reminded (by people, devotions, and the Holy Spirit) but this next sentence confuses me a bit. “Often there is nothing as godly as inactivity on our part, or nothing as harmful as restless working, for God has promised to work His sovereign will.” How do we know if we are working restlessly or moving forward as we are often advised to do. If Uzzah had just watched the Ark fall, wouldn’t that be inactivity on his part? He wasn’t restlessly working when he tried to steady the ark. It was a very earthly thing to do. It was something within his wheelhouse to do as a human on this earth wanting to serve God. Am I the only one who, though I understand what Cowman said at first about overstepping, still questions why he was wrong? I need to dig deeper into 2 Samuel 6.

Guess what? Verse 8 tells me I am not alone in my confusion and frustration. “Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.” Google AI tells me that Uzzah touching the cart to steady it was “an act strictly forbidden by God’s law, as only consecrated priests were to handle it.” Hmm. So, again, am I the only one who wonders why someone who wasn’t a priest was walking close enough to the ark rather than the priests who could indeed have steadied it when traveling what I assume were not smoothly paved roads?

I consulted Google again and the answer, “Biblical instructions for handling the Ark of the Covenant are found across several passages in the Torah. [first five books of the Bible] The primary directives specify that only the Levites – specifically the Kohathites – were authorized to move it, and it had to be carried on the shoulders using wooden poles inserted into rings, with absolutely no direct contact allowed.” Hmm – on poles on shoulders not on oxen? How was this detail missed on this transport and why does the person taking the orders, rather than the one giving the orders, suffer? Such is life? Really?

Google offers references in Exodus 25:10-22, Numbers 4:15, Numbers 4:4-6, and 1 Chronicles 15:14-15. In this last reference is “where King David successfully organizes the Levites to carry the Ark on their shoulders according to the law, following a previous disastrous attempt [disastrously fatal for Uzzah and his family] to move it on an oxcart.” I understand that God’s ways are not our ways, but still I was puzzled so I asked Don for some perspective and he agreed that Uzzah’s immediate death upon touching the Ark is questionable when so many of the people who captured the Ark in battles touched it and the worst consequences appear to have been hemorrhoids and mice infestations. About the man, lower in ranks, suffering for the decisions made by higher ups, Don said that is the way throughout the ages with the military. Leaders make good and bad decisions and the soldiers have to carry out the orders, come what may. I guess these thoughts offer some level of understanding that I can accept without pushing for more (unless God does want to offer extra enlightenment) plus the thirst to understand God’s reasoning led me to dig deeper into His Word and therefore draw closer to Him.

Utmost – Isaiah 35:7 – “And the parched ground shall become a pool.” Chambers offers, “We always have visions before a thing is made real…. God gives us the vision, then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience…. The vision is not a castle in the air, but a vision of what God wants you to be…. Don’t lose heart in the process…. God will never leave you.”

Prevail #187 – Ezekiel 36:26 – “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” That kind of heart thirsts for more of God, but often times that kind of longing comes after a time away. Larson tells about “some notable Christian leaders who were once prodigals. In their wild years, they didn’t care who they hurt or how their choices impacted others…. Then the Holy Spirit met them in their rebellion…. One by one, these world shakers responded to the voice of God, and He radically changed the trajectory of their lives…. And they can’t talk about the grace of God without tearing up, because they know they could never earn their way…. Nothing will change the world like a people with a tender, responsive heart toward God.”

JC – “I am your Father-God…. Your richest duty is devotion to Me…. You tend to feel guilty about pushing back the boundaries of your life to make space for time alone with Me. The world is waiting to squeeze you into its mold and crowd out time devoted to Me…. Listen to Me above the clamor of voices trying to distract you. Ask My Spirit to control your mind, for He and I work in perfect harmony.” See Isaiah 9:6, Zechariah 9;9, Romans 8:15-16, and Exodus 3:5.

JL – “Majestic Jesus, I come joyfully into Your Presence, my Prince of Peace…. Lord, please help me to keep walking with You along the path of Peace – enjoying the journey in Your Presence. In Your worthy Name, Amen.” See Psalm 25:4.