Friday August 21, 2020

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1–2)

How often have you prayed these words from the psalm? How often do you ask to meet with God? For me, it was often the other way around. I would find myself asking if I really had to go to church. I would wish that I could be doing other things, rather than being in church. Maybe, you’ve had the same attitude toward church.

The Sons of Korah, who wrote this psalm, remind us that just like we need water to live, so we also need God to live. And while we do not always realize it, our souls pant for God like a deer that is looking for water. God is the one who gives us life. He is the one who quenches our thirst.

Many people try to quench that thirst with other things. They fill their lives with what they think will bring them peace, hope and comfort. There efforts are like drinking salt water. It never quenches the thirst, it makes it worse.

Thanks be to God that he quenches our thirst through his Word. In his Word, we meet with God. We hear his promise to hear our prayers and to be with us always. The answer to the psalmists question is always. We can go and meet with God anytime.

Go and meet with God today. Be in his Word. Be quenched by the life giving water. Amen.

Our song for today is “Psalm 42: As the Deer Longs” by Danna Harkin, John Purifoy, Randall DeBruyn, and John Strege