Thirst for God

 

A few minutes after I got up this morning I saw this herd of deer across the frozen lake. The temperature was zero. The snow on the lake was probably three or four feet deep. I suppose the deer are searching for water and food.
About fifteen minutes later when I started to pray some psalms, the first one for Monday morning was Psalm 42 which begins, "As a deer craves running water, I thirst for you, my God; I thirst for God, the living God." Further along the psalmist prays, "The deep roars to deep; your torrents crash over me. The love of God summoned by day sustained my praise by night."
There have certainly been times in my life when I have been as desperate as these deer, when I have yearned to feel God's presence and care. I pray the psalm for those who may still be experiencing this thirst.
There are many times now when I feel God's love crashing over me in torrents. I pray the psalm in gratitude.
Later when I went out for my walk I noticed that the tiny stream, which throughout all this bitter cold weather had continued to flow, had finally frozen. But when I stopped and listened in the silence that snow often creates I could still hear a trickle of water. I wished that I had some way of calling the deer across the lake to slake their thirst.