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 

The Psalmist describes his intense need for God and asks when he could go and meet Him in the temple (Ps. 42:1). An overwhelming desire in his soul for the One who breathed life into him and made him a living soul (Gen. 2:7) made him feel like a fish out of the water. God was his life, so he had cultivated an intimate and dependent life with Him, which he cherished. Intimacy with the Lord was the essence of his being, and he thirsted for God as for water in the desert when he could not sense His presence (Ps. 42:2).

Today is Monday, the day after that Spirit-filled worship service. Do we have the same feeling for the presence of God as yesterday? Did dawn bring a yearning to be in His Presence for a closer and more intimate fellowship through the week?

Life has bumps, and today is no exception. Dryness will come as we struggle through the busyness of our day. What will you miss the most, and what will you reach out for in those moments? 

Imagine a stroll with Jesus through the woods, with the backdrop of waterfalls and chirping birds at such times. Is that our experience with Christ?

As disciples of Jesus, He has intricately woven our lives into that of His and we should miss Him when something drives a wedge between us.

Paul said it this way. 

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). 

Jesus was Paul’s life, and ours too, as believers.

Our Lord sought closeness with the Father while on earth (Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23; 26:36-39), and He calls us to the same desire for intimacy with Him every day, especially when the going gets tough.

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”, when they got so busy that they could not “even have a chance to eat (Mk. 6:31)?” 

May we accept this call and step away with our Lord to a quiet place for Him to strengthen, refresh, and refocus us each day.

Shalom