Daily Devotional – Sunday, October 10, 2021
As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.
Psalms 42:1 (NKJV)
One of the saddest moments of life was witnessing the death of a baby elephant caused by extreme thirst. A herd of older elephants had left her behind as they trekked to a drying water pan, less than a kilometer away.
Thirst can be deadly even in the spiritual realm. When we are disconnected from God, we experience intense thirst for Him. In the words of the psalmist, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” (Psalms 42:1).
Just like a thirsty deer in the wilderness longs to come across abundant waters, so does this distressed man long to hear God’s reassuring voice. He adds, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalms 42:2).
Psalm 42:4 explains this anguished cry. “For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.”
The widening distance between the psalmist and God is worrying. This man longs for a reconnection with God. He has no peace as long as his relationship with God is broken. Sin is the reason for broken relationships between God and man.
To find genuine rest, we must surrender our sins, worries and other burdens to God. Our thirst is for a vibrant connection with God and only He can quench that profound desire.
As Augustine of Hippo once said, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
Heavenly Father, come and quench this thirsting of my soul
Amen
Amen