Isa.55:1 – Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
I spent the first twenty one years of my life in a state of spiritual apathy. I had no hunger or thirst for God, all of my joy was found in the temporary pleasures of this life. The spiritual world was just a belief but not a reality that I longed for. How did that all change in the blink of an eye? Where did that thirst for God come from in my life in the summer of 1973? Part of it was disillusionment; the things that I set my hope on proved to be empty promises. The promise of a new culture and a new world in the psychedelic world of drugs and music turned into a nightmare. The friends either burned out or disappeared; all that was left was a growing hunger for something real. Here is how Matthew Henry describes this hunger or thirst for God.
“What is the qualification required in those who wish to be welcome — they must thirst. All will be welcome to Gospel grace only on those terms that Gospel grace is welcome to them. Those who are satisfied with the world and its enjoyments as their portion, who do not seek a happiness in the favor of God — those who depend on the merit of their own works as righteousness and see no need of Christ and his righteousness — such people do not thirst. They have no sense of need; they are not in pain or uneasy about the state of their souls, and so they will not condescend and humble themselves so far as to be indebted to Christ. But those who thirst are invited to come to the waters, as those who are weary and burdened are invited to Christ for rest. Where God gives grace, he first gives a thirst for it, and where he has given a thirst for it, he will give it.”
So maybe the disappointments, the unrealized expectations, and even the betrayals can serve a purpose in your life. These letdowns expose the vanity of pursuing happiness in the promises of contentment in this life. They may serve to produce a craving for the real in your life, I know it did in mine. Maybe it is all part of God’s plan, maybe its the plan He has for this generation. Rather than a generational train wreck He may just be launching a spiritual revolution. So if you are feeling a tinge of hunger in your belly the gospel feast is being served.