Sept 29 - Psalm 42:1,2

As the deer

pants for the water brooks,

So pants my soul for You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God

Psalm 42:1,2

Do deer pant?

I don’t know.

 

But here’s what I do know. My dogs pant. Run them in the field, and their tongues are hanging out. They look totally happy. And totally goofy. Their eyes say, "Thank you," for the simple pleasure of play. 

And then as soon as we walk inside, they make a bee line for the water dish. 

And they get the whole floor all wet because they're lapping so furiously. 

So what about a deer? When humans are hot, our bodies cool themselves by sweating. Dogs cool themselves by hanging their tongues out, panting, and running eagerly to the water dish after a joyful moment of play. 

So what about a deer? One that lives with the Psalmist in the Judean desert. It’s hot. It’s dry. Are they probably aren't playing like my dogs. For a deer in the wilderness, life is more about survival. And in the desert, water is necessary. It is literally life. 

Has your life ever been more about survival than about play? Has your hope ever been dashed and your soul parched as dry as a desert? Have you ever needed "something" ... desperately? Desperately! Have you ever been thirsty for "something," and not realized that your greatest hunger was really for God?

I can imagine David … being chased by Saul through the desert, like a deer is chased by a lion. His mouth is parched. His soul is desperate. And yet, even while his fugitive physical needs mount, he realizes that his greater need is for God's provision: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."  

Indeed, did you ever stop to think that David's logic here is the reason that people fast and pray. We intentionally put ourselves into a place of physical hunger so that … in our state of vulnerability, we might start attending also to our deeper thirsts: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

The next time you’re hungry for "something" and desperate for peace, sing this Psalm!

In Christ's Love,

a guy who sings ...

Here in this worn and weary land
Where many a dream has died
Like a tree planted by the water
We never will run dry

So living water flowing through
God, we thirst for more of You
Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire

Just to know You and to make You known
We lift Your name on high
Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide
We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives
Its time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive

 

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