Longing After God

When David decided to write what we know as Psalm 42, I believe in his mind was a picture of a tired and thirsty deer. Hunted for meat and sport, the speed of the deer was crucial to his survival. As a speedy animal, its moments of thirst are characterized by a panting, a longing, a condition that is only satisfied when it finds and drinks from the object of its search - the waterbrook.

As the Psalmist reflected upon the longing in his soul, he realized it was no different than that of the thirsty and panting deer. He writes, "As the [deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" (vv. 1-2). In context, David was banished to the land of Jordan away from the the courts of the temple, and as such was deprived from serving in and receiving the comforts of being in it. In exile, his soul longed for God and the joys of going into His courts with praise. This is not unlike the longing we feel when we are separated from those we love; the longing to experience the joy and comfort of being in their presence. As long as we are in that state, nothing else really matters.

It is one thing to love God but something different to long after Him. There are times when God places us in situations where our soul cries out for after Him. As Bible Scholar Matthew Henry writes, "If God, by [H]is grace, has wrought in us sincere and earnest desires towards [H]im, we may take comfort from these when we want those ravishing delights we have sometimes had in God, because lamenting after God is as sure an evidence that we love [H]im as rejoicing in God." The soul cannot truly lament after that which it does not love. David knew the joys of being in the presence of his God, and when he no longer had that his soul was restless; he could not be satisfied. Like the thirsty deer, he longed for the refreshing restoration that came with drinking from the fountain of living water.

In our world of mixed-up priorities, what is it that your soul longs for? If not for God and the things of God, could it be that your priorities are misplaced?