The Deer is Dehydrated

Thu, 25 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 42. It’s on many people’s top 10s, so I’m not special in this regard. It famously opens:

As the deer pants for flowing streams, 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?

The problem is we usually read the psalm the wrong way. We read (or sing) these words as an expression of our desire for God. We think the main point is “this is how much I want to be in God’s presence.” As the psalm goes on, however, it becomes clear that the main issue isn’t my desire, but God’s absence. The reason the dear pants is because there is no water, and the reason the psalmist laments is because God is absent. There is no heavenly feast to enjoy, no spiritual experiences to comfort. Indeed:

Spiritual-Depression on Sign and Shadow

The Deer is Dehydrated