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Twin fawns in Wisconsin
Twin fawns in rural western Wisconsin
(Click to enlarge photo)

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

"Thirsting For the Living God"

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:1,2).

I thought of today's passage when my cousin's wife sent me the above photo.  She lives in a rural part of western Wisconsin and took it in her back yard. When I look at the photo I recall a song we have sung for many years based on the daily Scripture passage, although likely many who sing this beautiful praise song may not realize this.  Of course that song is, "As The Deer."

The Psalmist apparently had observed deer panting for water and drew a parallel with the soul's thirst for God.  I'm not sure that I've ever seen deer panting for water but I sure have seen dogs do so.  After a good run with our dog, Roxie, she will pant and go straight to her water bowl.

The second verse especially grips my heart and brings conviction to me. "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" 

The Sons of Korah, who lived some three thousand years ago, had a longing for the "living God," the very same God we serve today who is ever living. 

"When can I go and meet with God?"  For us the answer is "always!"  It may not be a church service with other believers but our living God has declared "I am with you always."  The prerequisite is having a longing and thirst to be with the Living Lord.

The very first chorus I ever led a group in was "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus". It was in a chapel service my freshman year of Bible College.  There's a wonderful line that declares, "the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light His glory and grace."

There have been times in my life when I can testify to this Scriptural truth, but so much of the time the things of this earth are not strangely dim. May God help me and all of our readers to realize the joy and fulfillment of living in God's presence!


Be encouraged today,


Stephen C. Weber

Brooksyne's prayer: Father God, even as water is essential for physical life, You've created within me a thirst for holiness and righteousness to sustain my spiritual life.  So often I attempt to quench that inborn thirst with temporary substitutes that give me a quick high and then I inevitably face recurring dissatisfaction.  No person, position, or material possession can effectively replace an appointment with You, the Living God, who desires to have fellowship with Your creation.  I invite Your supernatural presence to be fully manifested in my life as I call out to You night and day, in times of refreshing and in times of drought.  Be glorified in me, Living God!

"As The Deer" (audio files)
A beautiful sax instrumental version
A simple local church version with voices.



As I search for music to share as a supplement to these daily messages I come across a lot of great music available online. Yesterday I discovered a band called Gracebridge band. They mostly take time-honored hymns and sing them with such meaningfulness, anointing and in a contemporary format. And the additional blessing they offer is that you can listen to the full song. Here's one that goes well with today's message!



Another Psalm also expresses the sentiment to today's message, "I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land" (143:6).



Today's photo of the two fawns was taken by my cousin's wife, Georgia, in her backyard in western Wisconsin. She calls them her backyard pets! This photo makes an outstanding desktop background. In my case I set it to "stretch" and the two fawn fill the screen without distortion.



Finally today the message brought to mind a photo a friend sent me of an adopted fawn.  The dog in this photo looks very much like our dog, Roxie!
Dog and fawn
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."

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