Desperate for God

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.”  (Psalm 42:1)

                Seems that Americans are becoming more health conscious, and that’s led to an increase in cardiovascular activity.  A favorite form of exercise for many is running or walking.  Both can be relaxing once a person is in good shape, but those preliminary workouts are tough.  And even after your body is conditioned, there’s really nothing very easy about a 2 mile run or a 4 mile walk.  Hot days are the worst!  Those are the times when your tongue clings to the roof of your mouth.

                When an arduous run or walk gives us a good case of cottonmouth, there’s nothing we want more than a cold bottle of water.  It relieves every part of a parched throat on a hot day.  If you’re a person who saves your water for the end of your workout, you yearn for it more and more with each passing step – much like a thirsty deer pants for a cold water brook.  There’s a desperation and urgency that simply can’t be satisfied until it’s quenched with liquid refreshment.

                The sons of Korah (writers of this psalm) used the words of this verse to express the heart of a believer that yearns to be with God.  The psalmists were referring to a desperation to be in God’s presence in heaven, but I think the words can certainly be a beautiful picture of a believer that’s desperate for more of God.  As John the Baptist said, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30).  Are you more desperate for God than anything else in your life?  Not sure?  Ask your calendar and your bank account – they’ll tell you.