As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

Devotion based on Psalm 42:1

This pastoral passage doesn’t depict a deer drinking deeply from a meandering stream in a peaceful forest. Picture, rather, an antelope wandering aimlessly in the wilderness during a time of drought. There is nothing to ease its thirst, just the hope of the slow trickle of a desert stream. Nothing else will do.

This is not a peaceful image. As we read these words, we should feel the desperation and determination of this dear animal. It is the same desperation and determination we experience during difficult days.

Just as only water will do when we are dehydrated, so only God will do when we are desperate. Why? Because God created us for himself, so only a relationship with our source of life can satisfy us.

Are you looking for love? Are you longing for a relationship? Are you doubting your worth? Are you searching for a purpose? Are you lacking contentment? The Lord, your Shepherd, supplies all you need.

He satisfies your hunger. He quenches your thirst. He gives rest to the weary. He leads the lost. He defends those in danger. He laid down his life for you to save you from your greatest enemies. And he lives to lead you to waters that well up to eternal life.

Imagine if all your needs could be taken care of with one solution. Imagine if, in all our needs, we always desired God. Think of the freedom we would have. The joy. The peace. The energy. The enthusiasm. The excitement. That’s what God provides all the time. Because in him, we have forgiveness. In him, we are family. In him, we are cared for, provided for, and protected for time and eternity.

Prayer: