This is one of those psalms that exemplifies the way in which we should be in relationship with God. In the opening verses on Psalm 42 we hear that the soul of the psalmist longs and thirsts for God. Have you ever felt that? A longing and a thirsting so deep for the divine? Maybe not enough to compose Psalms, but there are many who acknowledge a deep yearning that comes from within for a greater power.
When we read about humanity’s relationship with the divine, it begins (in Genesis) and ends (in Revelation) with a unity unlike any other. God and humanity are in perfect relationship with one another. But in between those books we see stories of God reaching out for humanity and of humanity reaching out to God. We are just like those people in the in between books, and like those people we spend our lives searching for a part of ourselves that we often feel is absent, distant, or disconnected.
Let these words of yearning soak in.
Let us pray
Psalm 42:
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, ‘Where is your God?’
Holy One, we come seeking you this day. We long for you, we thirst for you, we yearn to be one with you, and so we reach for you. Open our eyes, and show us the way that leads to your presence. Open our ears, and call to us again that we might follow you more closely. Open our hearts, and enter in to work through our lives and all that we do. AMEN
Blessings,
Rev. Richard