Whatever You Love, You Will Long For
DR. JOEL MUDDAMALLE
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“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.” Psalm 63:1 (NIV)
I had waited all day. It was what I was longing for. I even kept it hidden from my family, especially my kids. I walked into my house after a long day at work, went straight to that secret hiding spot … and the Snickers bar was gone.
Panic. Did I hide it somewhere else? Grief. Frustration. Who took it?
Whatever you and I love, we long for. This is natural and human. It is also often the entry point into spiritual warfare in our lives.
It's not wrong to enjoy good experiences, people, places, and things (even candy bars), but when we turn those things into the ultimate loves of our lives, the Bible has a term for this — idolatry.
It can be extremely subtle, but it has devastating consequences. And it’s not just in the Bible with ancient people bowing to statues. So how does false worship and idolatry present itself in a 21st-century context? Ask yourself: What provides me with satisfaction, stability, and a sense of control in this world? It may be money, vocation, education, family, hobbies, food, and so on.
Now ask yourself: How would I react if that thing were threatened, removed, or restricted? If you feel intense fear of it being taken away, that may indicate you have a functional idol.
The only One we should truly cling to is God Himself. When we love something or someone other than God in this ultimate way, we are working with the enemy to produce our own ruin (James 1:14-15). Theologian G.K. Beale puts it this way: “What we revere we will reflect, either to our ruin or restoration.”
Thankfully, as we battle against idolatry, we can fight like David in Psalm 63. He was parched in a land with no water, which was a scary place for the ancient Israelites. The desert was a place of testing for God's people, and it was also thought of as the home of evil spiritual beings.
Yet in this condition — thirsty and desperate — David’s response was deeper dependence on God: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you …” (Psalm 63:1).
This is spiritual warfare. When we are thirsty and tempted to look for satisfaction wherever we can find it, the enemy loves to present idols as “living water.” But in reality, they become the ultimate things in our lives that we grow to obsess over.
Instead, we can cry out to God to quench our thirst. When we turn our affection, love, and loyalty toward King Jesus, we step into the restoration and renewal only Christ can give us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
What are you longing for with your “whole being” today (Psalm 63:1)? Let it be Jesus alone.
Lord, when my heart longs for lesser things, draw me back to You. Be my satisfaction, my strength, and my only true source of life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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FOR DEEPER STUDY
Psalm 106:36, “They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them” (NIV).
Idolatry is like a spiritual trap that snares and captures us — and often it feels like we didn’t even see it coming. How does a prayer like David’s in Psalm 63 help us avoid these snares? How can you make sure the things you love are rightly ordered in relationship to God? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
© 2026 by Dr. Joel Muddamalle. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
Originally published Tuesday, 27 January 2026.
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