“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1
February 12, 2024
Because we are sinners we are born orphans wanting to know who our Father is. The tragedy is that the search for God and meaning in life goes after false gods. Idolatry it is called. The psalmist knew God. His problem was not that of a spiritual orphan, but the loss of communion with God. He was away from the temple in Jerusalem and the delight of that special worship found there. “Give him his God and he is as content as the poor deer which at length slakes its thirst and is perfectly happy” (C. H. Spurgeon). It was a depressing situation for David. Sadly, there are allurements by which an appetite for God can be diverted to mirages: excessive entertainment, drugs, alcohol, shopping, divorce, pornography. Are you depressed? Do some truth-talk to yourself. Only God can satisfy the human heart. Maybe the problem is that you have not discovered the only remedy for restlessness within and that is satisfaction of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.
H
“The soul of man…hath in it a raging and inextinguishable thirst.” Henry Scougal (1650-1678).