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PSALM 42:1 “AS THE DEER PANTS FOR THE WATER BROOKS, SO PANTS MY SOUL FOR YOU, O GOD.” (NKJV, KJV, NASB)
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” (NIV, RSV)
“As the deer pants for water, so I long for you, O God.” (TLB)
Please listen to this Song to Remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LthkibTzuj8
The Bible, and especially the Psalms, use a lot of metaphors to depict our relationship with God. I am not a hunter, so the metaphor of a deer panting for water doesn’t ring as true in me as does the many times in life I have watched the dogs we have owned pant for water.
The imagery of a deer longing for water reflects a deep, instinctual need. Certainly, in the arid lands of Israel, an observer would notice deer, or other wildlife, enthusiastically seeking water as a necessity for survival.
Nearly every dog I have ever observed loves to run. We watched beagles chase after rabbits when my grandpa hunted them and, without exception, when the hunt was over, the single most important thing to those dogs was water! It was liked they needed it for survival, more than anything else. But, give them that water they so longed for and give them the chance to go out there and do it again, every one of them would charge back out into the adventure.
In a more domestic environment, I have observed those same beagles (we have owned three of them now) absolutely adore chasing a toy or a ball around the yard or living room just to be part of the life of my son, Josh, and his love for them. That panting that I see coming from them is often just as much an indication of devotion as it seems to be a thirst from all that running.
Another writer expressed it like this: “The psalmist expresses an intense yearning for God, paralleling the deer's physical thirst. This longing indicates a deep spiritual desire and recognition of God as the ultimate source of life and fulfillment. The soul's thirst for God suggests an intimate relationship and dependency, reflecting the covenant relationship between God and His people.”
Like a deer (or one of our beagles) panting for water, I can see the parallel with my occasional deep spiritual desire for that intimate and dependent relationship with the Father. I have to sadly admit however (as I think most men would), that those times of intimate closeness with Him are pretty rare. But, I can recall occasions when the Lord felt close enough because I had spent the time to draw near Him, that it was easy to see how I could describe it as a deep hungering and thirsting that only He could satisfy.
I know I share experiences with many friends of those times at Youth Camp, in the summers of my teen years, where I sought the Lord with all my heart. Sometimes, we responded so enthusiastically because others around us were doing so…or because we wanted to share in the deep relationship we knew we could only get there at camp.
I can’t count the number of times when, after a particularly moving message from the evening’s evangelist or pastor, we all came forward, repented of the way we lived the rest of the year, cried out to the Lord to be filled with His Spirit and “waited at the stream,” lapping up the spiritual water that we were sure craving.
We were never disappointed. Jesus met us there. He filled us with His Holy Spirit. Sometimes, that resulted in speaking in tongues. Many times it brought about tears and purity after repentance. It seemed like it was always a joyful experience. It was like finally getting that drink of water that we knew we had been running after and craving so much that we hadn’t even recognized that we had been missing it.
It seems like that craving doesn’t happen as often as I grow older. I still see it, especially in my daughter Andi, as she dives into the water of praise and worship, seeking the closeness and refreshing that only comes from Him. But, as life gets busier, more hectic, more like work…especially among us men…and as the years get longer and we get older, it can almost seem like we no longer find pleasure in them.
Wow! That sounds like Ecclesiastes 12:1 that we discussed in the last chapter! Remember how, in that verse, we were told to “Remember your creator” before those things in life seemed to rob you of the blessings of such closeness?
I know, and have to admit, that as I have grown older, and especially after losing my dear wife Cheryl last year, that the thirsting for that water has slowly been replaced by the hunger for that time when we will be together again in heaven. Those feelings are natural and require no apologies. But I have to wonder if our Lord would prefer to have us still “thirsting like a panting deer” for Him, instead of looking forward to the upcoming glory of heaven.
The deer represents a soul in desperate need of God, illustrating a natural and intense longing for sustenance and refreshment. Symbolic of spiritual nourishment and life, streams of water represent the presence and sustenance provided by God. I still need that every day. The soul of the psalmist is depicted as longing and thirsting for God, indicating a deep spiritual need and desire for communion with the Divine.
As long as we continue to walk the paths of this life, here on earth, we ought to want that kind of intimate relationship with Jesus that He promises to provide. Psalm 63 tells us to declare, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary” (are you seeing Him there every Sunday?) “and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”
Jesus promised the woman at the well (just like He promises us today) “whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14) Just like that woman, we need to tell Jesus, “Sir, give me that water!”
In John 7:37, at the last day of “the Feast,” Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice (I can imagine that voice that was loud enough so everyone could hear Him), “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
We might not know we are thirsty because we forgot what thirsty felt like. Or maybe, we have become so busy and burdened by all the problems and difficulties of life, we have let them replace the thirst. Whatever you do, don’t let your thirst for other things replace that thirst for Him.
I know that the same Lord who supplies the solution to our thirst also loves us enough to keep that thirst for Him alive if we let Him. Remember how much He wants us to hunger and thirst after Him. If you have never experienced that thirst, ask Him to give it to you. He will.
If we earnestly seek Him, He will not only give us that thirst for Him, but as we start panting for the water of the Holy Spirit, He will provide the living stream that will give us the water that we desperately need. Just like the deer pants for water, my soul will long after You.
Questions to consider: What things in life have you found replace that thirst for the things of the Lord? The rich, young ruler thirsted to follow Jesus. But when the cost to follow Him became too high, he turned and walked away. Can our possessions and riches replace a thirst for Jesus? A fear of dangers in life can make us forget about the divine provision of the water of life. Are you fearful of things in this life that need to be replaced by the water of life? How long has it been since you remember thirsting after Jesus more than anything else in life you could want?
Other Scriptures to study: Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” John 6:35 “…he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Revelation 7:16 “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore…for the Lamb will lead them to living fountains of waters.” Nehemiah 9:15 “You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought them water out of the rock for their thirst.”
 
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