“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Psalm 42:1-2, 11
The writer of this Psalm understood the most basic need of a human being. Though physically, we know that we need air, water, food and shelter and though emotionally we know we need companionship and community; spiritually, we all need to worship, to know what our purpose in life is and how we got here. Simply put, we, as humans long for a relationship with God!
He writes, just as a deer needs water and will travel endlessly, even through danger to get it, so my sould needs You, oh God! My soul thirsts for the Living God, not for a dead idol or an ideal to committ my life to, I NEED a RELATIONSHIP with God-not a dead fantasy but with Someone capible of intelligently designing and maintaining a complex universe as well as my complex unique physiological and psychological makeup within that universe! ALL OF US LONG FOR GOD! Without Him, life gets pretty mundane and even depressing. Several times in this Psalm, the writer asks himself, why are you downcast, depressed or in despair, soul of mine? Hope in God, your Creator. Hope in God your Sustainer, HOPE IN GOD, for despite how things look today, there’s still plenty to praise Him for and in your life, more to praise Him for is coming in your life!
Often, a simple change of perspective, like remembering that most of my problems are temporary, in the light of eternity and that God has created me to love Him and be loved by Him FOR ETERNITY, will help us to keep things in perspective. The sooner I realize that God IS my hope, the sooner I’ll experience satisfaction, meaning in life and contentment in Him! What are you hoping in today? HOPE IN GOD, THE MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH AND YOU! Think about it!
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