As the Deer Pants for Water

 July 7

This Psalm begins “Book II” within the Psalms. This Psalm begins a theme of earnest prayer to God in the midst of struggle and suffering. The Psalmists long for God’s presence to be restored to the Temple. Where are you longing for God’s presence? As you read, look for how you connect to the experience of the people who wrote this powerful Psalm.  

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

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REFLECTION

As The Deer Pants For Water

By Diane Ward

  

Refugee - (hunted, haunted, grieving father, outcast, betrayed, contrite sinner, downcast spirit, stalked as prey by the manic king he comforted with his harp, humiliation of his wife as he danced with joy carrying the ark to the temple.) The words melancholia and moodiness seem lame to me for the anguish of David’s Psalm.

David trusted God’s mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and justice (while living before the redemptive blood of Jesus.) Perhaps his time-traveling soul penned a foreshadowing of Calvary.

We were made for relationship, for intimacy-unable to achieve complete fulfillment in this life. At times we are lonely and insatiable, our restless hearts beat imperfectly. The pain we experience works to our good to keep us focused on the purpose for which we were created.

We may not understand now as did David who poured out his soul, that there is no greater reward in the universe than intimacy with God. I am grateful for David’s vulnerable heart, his raw grief as he mourned the loss of three of his children, and his fugitive life fleeing from enemies.

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

“Deep calls to deep”, God waits for us in the depths of our being. When we are ready, he meets us at the place of our brokenness. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” (2 Corinthians 4:8)

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER      

Tuesday: TRUTH

In the midst of all the messages being heard, pray for accurate information to drown out false reporting and click-bait tactics.

Prayer is Laughing - When God is Smiling

Following a deer trail in the woods will often take you to a body of water.  If you are by a lake or a stream and there is a wooded area all around, you are likely to spot a trail, a narrow area where the overgrowth has been trampled down.  This likely opens up into a clearing at the edge of a lake.  This is usually due to deer traffic, moving over the same area every night in search of water.

For the short period of time I lived in the north woods of Wisconsin, deer were a symbol to me of God's loving care.  Deer would appear out of nowhere as Asa (my golden retriever) and I would be walking along the road.  Often, a number of them would be crossing a few feet ahead of us.  We would stop and stare and sometimes they would do the same.  The sight always made me smile.  And when I would see them in my own yard, grazing, I felt blessed.

Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)
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?

David used a deer's thirst for fresh water as an analogy or a parallel for his feelings for God.  David recognized that God was the only thing that would quench his thirst.  He drank often from the well or stream of Living Water. Fleeing from his enemies and running across a desert caused David to thirst often and deeply. We too have similar thirst when we are in a spiritual drought, or when we are stuck in a dry region of our life. God longs to fill us, to satisfy us as He satisfies all living creatures.

Psalm 42, 43 and 44

Psalm 42 -- When can I meet with God?

If you get the chance to read this Psalm today, do so from the Message version.  The words don't ring as familiar when read from a book we don't always study, causing us to think more when reading.  The words and phrases are just as beautiful, but because we am not anticipating the next line, we think about them as we move from verse to verse, stanza to stanza.

During my yearlong sabbatical in the North woods of Wisconsin where God placed me for my time of healing and grieving, He blessed me daily.  Because the area I was living was near civilization, but tucked away in the woods, I had the opportunity to commune with nature daily.  Anyone who has experienced the loss of a spouse might understand when I say, "I never knew when sadness would overcome me. I could not prepare for the memories that would come rushing back and catch my breath in my throat.

It was during this season of my life God showed up regularly.  I would cry out to Him asking, "Why," quizzing Him on my pain and asking, "How long will this last?"  Inevitably He would calm my spirit and speak to my heart using nature.  The first year the deer were crossing my path daily.  I would be feeling low and talking it out with God and the next thing I see are 4 or 5 of His magnificent creatures crossing the road ahead of me.  Often, sitting outside on the deck, I would hear some rustling in the grass look up from my journal writing to see more deer just watching me as they grazed.  I was reminded of this as I read through Psalm 42

A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek;
I want to drink God,
deep draughts of God.
I’m thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, “Will I ever make it—
arrive and drink in God’s presence?”
I’m on a diet of tears—
tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long
people knock at my door,
Pestering,
“Where is this God of yours?” (Psalm 42:1-3 MSG)

I knew where God was that year, He was right by my side just waiting for me to turn to Him, to call out to Him and He would calm my spirit and heal my heart with white-tailed deer.  What does He use when you call out to Him?  How do you feel His blessings in your life?

Read Psalm 42 here

Listen to Psalm 42 here