Scripture Notes: Thirsting for God (Psalm 143)

“I stretch out my hands to Thee; my soul thirsts for Thee like a parched land. Selah.” Parched. There are times when we all feel parched, dry, exhausted. Life takes its toll and drains us. We have all experienced it. 

So what do we do? We follow the advice of the psalmist in Psalm 143. We stretch out our hands to God. We recognize that at the bottom of our dryness is a thirst for Him. We pray. We rest in Him. We bring our exhaustion and anxiety and set it before him. 

The little word “Selah” that appears at the end of this verse is also key. Although saints and scholars have reflected on and debated about it for centuries, Selah’s original meaning remains a mystery. But since it is part of Sacred Scripture, authored by God, this word is included for a reason. God wants to get our attention and elicit a response. At the very least we are supposed to stop and look up, to focus on God, to turn our hearts to Him. In this case, maybe we can make the psalmist’s words our own in a deep way and add our own prayer to God based on what we are experiencing, even if, perhaps especially if, we feel as dry and parched as the psalmist.