Panting Souls
The deer or the hart is a gentle, timid, delicate creature, and the psalmist is drawing a comparison of the deer to man's soul, panting after, searching for, or longing for his God. This is Almighty God's fondest desire, that man would seek Him, desire to please Him, and serve Him. Oh that mankind would become souls after the Lord Jesus Christ who gave all for His creation.
"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so
panteth my soul after thee, O God."
"My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." (Psalm 84:2) The deer enjoys being near the water for feeding, but when he is being hunted, he will go to the water as a refuge. Jesus said, "But whosever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14) God is our refuge; He is a strong tower and the righteous run in to Him and are safe; we are filled with His Spirit and baptized in His name, and we arise to newness of life in Him! (Acts 2:38)
"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou
disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise
him for the help of his countenance"
"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit." (Psalm 34:18) Rise up, and call out to the One who holds the universe in the palm of His hand, the One who speaks and the planets line up, the One who turned back time for a sign to a weeping desperate soul. The Lord Jesus Christ is your comforter; He leaves the ninety and nine to go after one lost sheep; and He is as close as the mention of His name, Jesus ... Jesus!
One who does not know God does not know of the sweetness of His presence, the Joy of His Spirit, the thrill of His voice, and the beauty of His comfort. He is the satisfying solace of every spirit and the awesome wonder that every human soul longs for, even when they are not aware of their own hunger. He created us to worship Him, and in our worship, we become complete. He's the babbling brook for a dry desert, the rainbow after the storm, the lily of the valley and the bright morning star, the whisper in ebony terror, the arms underneath your burden, and He's your Savior, your Lord, Jesus Christ.
As our hearts pant after our Creator, we can see a light at the end of our dark tunnel, a clearing of our troubled weary minds; we feel a lifting of our heavy burdened spirit; the billowing fearful clouds above our heads start to dissipate; we see "Sonlight" bursting through the trees, and we fondly remember a few words from the most beautiful of the psalms, "...Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy comes in the morning!"
By Sheryl Fowler
(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com. PromiseLand
Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)
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