My soul thirsts for the Living God daily.
Scripture
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” - Psalms 42:1-2
Observation
Let’s get into some interesting facts I learned about the deer when I came across this scripture. First of all, did you know the deer pants for water especially after running from a predator ? It also uses water to mask its scent so it cannot be found. They don’t sweat so they need water to regulate their temperature also . They need water DAILY. It is so profound that the psalmist painted this picture to explain his heart desire for God in this scripture . This scripture is so spot on because our soul which comprises of our mind, will and emotions desperately needs the Lord or we will fall prey to the enemy . Let’s take the mind for instance , day in day out it feels like a battleground where the enemy is contending for your mind with lies he wants to sow. If your mind is not fortified in the truth of God you will easily fall prey. We desperately need the Lord every single day whether you have the consciousness of this need or not . In our world today , a lot of people have a thirst for God but are not aware this thirst is for Him. Unfortunately people have resorted to drugs , love of money , relationships, sex etc but if they were to be truthful with themselves, this thirst is still not being satisfied. Why ? Because God is the ONLY one that can truly satisfy.
Application
It is very easy to call yourself a Christian but are you a follower of God ? You need to sit down and be honest with yourself and ask these questions ; “how submitted am I to God ?” “How much do I love the Lord ?” “Do I really desire and yearn for Him like this scripture describes ?” “Do I look forward to appearing before Him?” To answer “yes” to these , you need to truly seek after intimacy with God. This looks like building a life that is centred around Him and not building your life first then fitting Him in there somewhere. Best believe the enemy is very good at convincing us to leave God and come back later to Him when we’ve sorted out “important” things in our lives . Meanwhile scriptures will say seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and every other thing will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Culture today teaches us the opposite .
One simple step you can take today is to allocate a time every day dedicated specifically to God. This could look like 3am, 7am , 5pm etc and give yourself 30mins or 1hr . No phone , no TV, no distraction just you and your maker. Do this consistently and you would notice the time would start to fly by so quickly because now it’s more than just a habit, a relationship is being built and you genuinely feel fulfilled. Practical things you can do during this time is have conversations with Him, pray, sing songs to Him, rant to Him or even just remain silent and enjoy His company.
Prayer
Heavenly Father thank You for today . I pray Oh Lord You forgive me for times I’ve run away from Your presence. Create in me a desire to seek You , to yearn for You and to please You. Help me to resist the enemy and his distractions when it is time for me to spend time with You. In Jesus name I pray Amen.