Psalm 42
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
6 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8 By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
I Will Yet Praise Him
Near my home is a trench drain that collects water during the rainy season. If you live in Colorado, you well know that an abundance of collected water is not typical. When we drive by and see water running through the drain, there is cause for celebration!
During the rainy season, when the streams are abundantly full, especially in forested areas, water is available for animals to drink their fill. During season when streams dry up, lends itself to great difficulty for animals who feel the loss. The psalmist refers to the deer that pants or groans for the water that was there during the season of plenty, then compares himself to the deer, desperate for the living water, desperate for Elohim (God). The psalmist asks in verse two, “When can I go and meet with God?” There was an honesty in the desperate yearning for God to meet the need of fullness that only He can fill.
I am struck by the choice to move beyond desperation. Twice (vs. 5 and 11) we read, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
It is far too easy for us to be caught in the “not enough” space of our soul, desiring fullness and blessing. The truth is that we, too, have seasons of plenty but also seasons of feeling dry and desperate for God. I have concluded that the dry seasons in my life are intended to point me to the One who is my source of living water. He leads me to that which meets my every need. This is why I can (and to which I am invited) put my hope in God. He does not leave me desperate, searching for fulfillment on my own. He, the good Shepherd, leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
This Advent season offers you and me a redirection. Before Christ’s birth, the people knew the Messiah had been prophesied, but were still panting and groaning for Him. God was providing; they just hadn’t yet quite seen the fulfillment. We are the same today. God is providing for our heart’s yearning to be with Him and He with us in our circumstances. As we recognize our need, let us say with the psalmist with confident hope, “I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
Author: Kim Davis
Other Scriptures for today:
- Isaiah 29:17-24
- Acts 5:12-16
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