So Pants My Soul For You
Psalms 42:1 NKJV
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
This is a verse that is familiar to many people. It is sung as a popular worship song. But what it shows us is our need for God. We need Him. We need Him to be complete. We need Him to be made whole. So many in this world chase after the emptiness of this world thinking that it will fill a need that only God can fill, and they always come up empty. Often leading to feelings of hopelessness and depression.
But the Living God desires to make us whole. He desires to tabernacle with us. Jesus said to the woman at the well that those who partake of the water he gives will thirst no more. For He provides living water that can only satisfy the soul. What Jesus truly desires and why He came is to restore our relationship with Him. In the garden of Eden our relationship with God was broken. Adam lived in perfect intimacy with God until he sinned. The moment he sinned, everything changed. He now had a whole in his heart and life that only God can fill.
We are told in scripture that the human heart is inherently wicked (Jeremiah 17:9-10). This means that our hearts are naturally drawn to sin. We are selfish and self-centered by nature because of what took place in the garden of Eden. But when we come to Christ everything changes. We are born again. We are made brand new. Every day as we abide in Christ we are changed from the inside out by the power and person of The Holy Spirit. Jesus truly has living water that alone can satisfy the soul.
The writer of this Psalm compares our longing for God as a deer pants and longs for the water brook. The word pants mean long for and crave. When a deer has gone for a period of time without water, their entire body begins to crave and long for the cool water of the water brook. This is how it is for us when it comes to God’s presence. The more we abide in Him, the more we long for Him. The more we spend time with Him, the more we need Him. No matter how much time we spend with Him it is not enough. This is where Jesus becomes our obsession when we simply spend time daily walking with Him and fellowshipping with Him. There is truly nothing like coming to personally know the Living Christ.
Prayer
Father give me a great hunger and passion for you. May you truly become my obsession. May you prune and remove from my life anything that would hinder what you want to do. Father draw me ever closer. May my intimacy and maturity in you increase on a daily basis. May I truly long for you as the deer pants for the water. In the name of Jesus, Amen!
Reflection
1. Is anything hindering your relationship with God?
2. Has Jesus truly become your obsession?
3. Pray today for God to increase your hunger for Him.
4. Spend time listening to worship and simply sitting in His presence.