Psalm 42: 1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
The other day, I became slightly dehydrated while doing yard work. Frustrated with the job my boys had done on mowing and weed-eating, in a fit of parental fixation, I drug out the mower and the weed eater to try to “clean up” after my boys’ work. It was over 100 degrees outside. At 5:00. It was hot, and I was in jeans. It didn’t take long before I was pouring sweat and muttering under my breath.
After about only 45 minutes of work, I noticed I had slowed down significantly. Not only that, my mouth felt like cotton and my eyesight was way off–blurry and dizzy I stumbled inside and got a large drink of water. I couldn’t seem to get enough water into my body–I drank and drank and drank. I probably drank too quickly and too fast, because it produced a headache that lasted the rest of the night.
What does this have to do with Psalm 42:1? It’s spiritual dehydration. It’s what happens when I plow through my day, or my life, without drinking from the flowing streams of God. I used to mock this verse, calling it a “cross-stitch” verse–something to cross-stitch and stick on your wall; something to say in a cliche’ infused sermon. Not any more, because I know spiritual dehydration. I know it now. It doesn’t take long to take hold.
And as the deer pants for flowing streams–not stagnant streams, but flowing streams; so my soul, my very soul, pants for my God.
Take a look at the rest of this Psalm:
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Deep calls to Deep……….Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.
This is where my morning will be spent tomorrow, before tackling a my day, well-hydrated.
Kim says
EYEOPENER… I have not been drinking from Gods flowing stream on a daily basis.. I know I should and I do feel SO much better when I do… Thanks for the uplifting and reminder that I needed to hear to get my butt.. in gear again…