Craving or Necessity?

During the long days of summer, I find there are two things that I gravitate towards...ice cream and country music. 

Sure, you can listen to country music any time, but there is a summer feeling associated with so many songs...driving down a dirt road (without a destination) with your windows rolled down, and in the passenger seat is either your dog, your lady, or your man.  

And sure, you can eat ice cream all year long, but it just tastes better at the end of a long, hot day, and when you eat with friends or family. 

Those are my summer cravings. 

But there are also necessities. For example, water is not my favorite drink, but my body knows that I need it to live! 

Is my relationship with God a craving or a necessity? 

In Psalm 63, David wrote the following: 

“1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.” 

It is natural to have spiritual highs and lows in life. Sometimes you can’t get enough of God! Maybe a teacher inspires you, or a musician releases and album that captivates you for months, or circumstances force you to rely on God. And there are some periods where we get bruised and beat down by life, and God becomes a once-in-a-while-thought. 

But the goal? The goal is that He becomes your necessity. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” Jesus said in Matt. 6:33. Seek God’s kingdom always. Seek to include God on your good days and your bad. Seek Him whether you pass or fail. Seek Him whether you get fired or promoted. Make Him your necessity and gain perspective on all the other things in your life. 

Blessings, 

Franklin