Psalm 42:2

New International Version (NIV)

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

For meditation

There are times when we yearn for things we think we can’t live without. Many times, they turn out to be things we really do not need. Life can go on without them, yet we struggle to get them. Water is not one of those things. When we are thirsty, we need water to quench it. If we deny the body this precious necessity for long, we can die. A long walk through the desert will attest to this. It is because water is life, and the human body needs it to function. It is estimated that the human body is 50-65% water. That’s why we can’t refuse the body when it demands water. That strong feeling is what the Psalmist uses to describe his need for God (Ps. 42:1). His soul thirsts for the One who breathed life into him and made him a living soul (Gen. 2:7). It is a feeling for a closer and intimate relationship with the living God, which is the essence of his being. His thirst for God is like being starved for water in the desert, and he can’t go on living without His Presence (Ps. 42:2).

1. Do we have the same feeling for God?
2. Do we yearn to be in His presence for a closer and intimate fellowship with Him?
3. Don’t we feel the dryness when life becomes a struggle through the busyness of our day?
4. At such times, don’t we feel the need for a stroll with Jesus through the woods, with the backdrop of waterfalls and the sound of chirping birds?
5. Do you see why Jesus told His disciples to come with Him by themselves to a quiet place and get some rest when they got so busy that they couldn’t “even have a chance to eat” (Mk. 6:31)?

I pray that as disciples of Jesus, we too will intensely yearn for more of Him, as the Psalmist did; for He is the essence of our life.

So: May we step aside with Jesus to a quiet place to be strengthened, refreshed and refocused each day; and may all the noise fade as we take a walk with Him through “the Garden in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8).

Shalom